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A    SOLDIER'S 
RECOLLECTIONS 

LEAVES    FROM    THE    DIARY 
OF    A    YOUNG    CONFEDERATE 


WITH   AN    ORATION    ON    THE   MOTIVES   AND    AIMS 
OF  THE  SOLDIERS  OF  THE  SOUTH 


BY 

RANDOLPH  H.  McKIM 

LATE    1ST   LIEUTENANT   AND    A.  D.  C.,   3D   BRIGADE,    JOHNSTON'S 
DIVISION,    ARMY   OF  NORTHERN   VIRGINIA 


"QUAEQUE  IPSE  .  .  .   VIDI" 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  AND  CO. 

FOURTH  AVENUE  &  30TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

LONDON,    BOMBAY,    AND    CALCUTTA 

1910 


> 


Copyright,  1910,  by 
RANDOLPH  H.  Me  KIM 


All  rights  reserved 


THE  .  PLIMPTON  •  PRESS 

[  W  .  D  •  D] 
NORWOOD  .  MASS  •  U  •  S  •  A. 


THE   PRIVATE   SOLDIERS   OF  THE 
CONFEDERATE   ARMIES 


253338 


FOREWORD 

T  HAVE  set  down  in  the  pages  that  follow  some  of 
-••  my  experiences  and  observations  during  my  ser 
vice  with  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  first  as  a 
private  soldier,  then  as  a  staff  officer,  and  finally  as 
a  chaplain  in  the  field.  I  served  in  the  ranks  under 
Gen.  Jos.  E.  Johnston  and  Gen.  Thos.  J.  Jackson;  as 
a  staff  officer  under  Brigadier-Gen.  Geo.  H.  Steuart 
in  the  army  of  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee;  and  as  a  chaplain  in 
the  Second  Virginia  Cavalry  under  Col.  Thos.  T. 
Munford,  in  the  brigade  of  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee. 

It  has  not  been  my  purpose  to  write  a  history  of  the 
campaigns  in  which  I  took  so  humble  a  part,  but  simply 
to  present  a  few  pen  and  ink  sketches  of  the  life  and 
experience  of  a  Confederate  soldier,  in  the  hope  that 
I  may  thereby  contribute  in  some  small  degree  to  a 
better  understanding  of  the  spirit  of  the  epoch  —  both 
of  the  soldiers  who  fought  the  battles,  and  of  the 
people  on  whose  behalf  they  dared  and  suffered  what 
they  did. 

In  telling  this  plain  and  unvarnished  story  I  have 
been  aided  by  the  diary,  or  rather  the  diaries,  which 
I  kept  during  the  war,  and  from  which  I  have  freely 
quoted,  just  as  they  were  written,  without  recasting 
the  sentences,  or  improving  the  style,  or  toning  down 
the  sentiments  they  contain.  The  thoughts  and  the 
opinions  expressed,  and  the  often  crude  form  in  which 

vii 


viii  FOREWORD 

they  are  cast,  are  just  those  of  a  young  soldier,  jotted 
down  on  the  march,  or  by  the  camp-fire,  or  in  the  quies 
cent  intervals  of  battle,  without  any  thought  that 
they  would  ever  be  put  into  print.  This  I  have  done, 
believing  that  I  would  thus  best  attain  my  object, 
—  to  show  the  mind  and  the  life  of  the  Confederate 
soldier  as  they  were  while  the  struggle  was  going  on. 
But  there  was  a  hiatus  in  my  material.  My  diary 
for  the  larger  part  of  one  of  the  four  years  of  the  war 
was  lost,  and  therefore  I  have  omitted  those  months 
from  my  narrative. 

I  have  also  tried  to  give  the  point  of  view  of  the 
young  men  of  the  South  in  espousing  the  cause  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  to  remove  some  misapprehensions 
still  entertained  in  regard  to  the  motives  which  ani 
mated  the  men  who  followed  the  banner  of  the  South 
ern  Cross. 

In  connection  with  the  Gettysburg  campaign,  I 
have  undertaken  to  discuss  the  much  mooted  ques 
tion  of  the  action  of  Gen.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  with  the  cav 
alry  under  his  command.  This  I  have  felt  constrained 
to  do  because  of  the  view  (erroneous,  as  I  believe) 
presented  by  Col.  John  S.  Mosby  in  his  recent  book 
on  the  subject. 

I  have  also  reproduced  an  article  written  many  years 
ago  by  request,  and  published  in  the  Southern  His 
torical  Society  Magazine,  telling  the  story  of  the  part 
taken  at  Gettysburg  by  the  Third  Brigade  of  John 
son's  Division,  Swell's  Corps.  And  in  the  Appendix 
I  have  placed  an  Oration  upon  the  Motives  and  Aims 
of  the  Soldiers  of  the  South,  delivered  in  1904  before 
the  United  Confederate  Veterans. 

Fully  sensible   how  much  I  stand  in  need  of  the 


FOREWORD  ix 

reader's  indulgent  good-will  as  he  follows  me  in  this 
simple  story  of  an  obscure  soldier's  life  in  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia,  I  still  hope  that  what  I  have 
recorded  may,  here  and  there,  throw  a  side-light 
on  the  conditions  under  which  the  Confederate  soldier 
lived  and  fought  those  four  stern,  fateful  years,  and 
give  fresh  emphasis  to  his  purity  of  motive  and  his 
heroic  constancy  in  danger  and  adversity. 

One  closing  word  as  to  the  spirit  in  which  I  have 
undertaken  this  modest  contribution  to  the  literature 
of  the  Civil  War.  I  am  not,  in  these  pages,  brooding 
over  the  ashes  of  the  past.  The  soldiers  of  the  South 
ern  Cross  have  long  ago  bowed  to  the  decree  of  Almighty 
God  in  the  issue  of  the  great  conflict.  His  will  is  wiser 
and  better  than  ours.  We  thank  God  that  to-day 
the  sun  shines  on  a  truly  reunited  country.  We  love 
our  Southland;  we  are  Southern  men;  but  we  are  glad 
that  sectionalism  is  dead  and  buried,  and  we  claim 
our  full  part  in  working  out  the  great  destiny  that 
lies  before  the  American  people.  We  may  not  forget 
-  we  veterans  of  the  Civil  War  —  that  the  best  of 
our  life  and  work  lies  behind  us:  morituri  salutamus. 
But  whatever  of  life  remains  to  us  we  have  long  ago 
dedicated  to  the  service  of  our  common  country. 
We  joyfully  accept  our  share  in  the  responsibilities, 
the  opportunities,  the  strenuous  conflicts,  of  the  future, 
against  foes  within  and  without,  for  the  moral  and 
material  glory  of  our  country.  We  are  Americans  in 
every  fibre;  and  nothing  that  pertains  to  the  honor,  to 
the  welfare,  to  the  glory,  of  America  is  foreign  to  us. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    ON  THE  BRINK  OF  THE  MAELSTROM 1 

University  of  Virginia,  April,  1861  —  Secession  flag  on 
the  rotunda  —  Excitement  among  the  students  —  Divi 
sion  of  sentiment  among  the  professors  —  Removal  of  the 
flag  —  How  Virginia  was  transformed  from  a  Union  State 
to  a  Secession  State  —  Bronze  memorial  tablets  in  the 
rotunda  —  Great  number  of  alumni  in  the  Confederate 
Army  —  University  student  military  companies  ordered 
to  Harper's  Ferry  —  Visit  to  Baltimore  —  Return  to  Uni 
versity  —  Examination. 
II  THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  ISSUE  INVOLVED  IN  THE  CIVIL 

WAR 11 

The  question  of  slavery. 

III  FIRST  EXPERIENCES  OF  A  RAW  RECRUIT      ....       23 

Departure  from  the  University  —  En  route  for  Balti 
more  —  News  of  martial  law  in  that  city  —  A  letter  — 
Arrival  at  Winchester  —  Decision  to  enter  the  army  — 
Expectation  of  battle  at  Darksville  —  My  first  dinner  in 
camp  —  First  Maryland  Infantry  —  Col.  George  Steu- 
art  —  The  forced  march  from  Winchester  to  Manassas 
—  Experiences  on  the  march  —  Letter  to  my  mother — 
A  letter  from  home. 

IV  OUR  FIRST  BATTLE 34 

Six  miles  at  double-quick  to  the  battle  field  —  Charge 
of  the  First  Maryland — Victory — General  Elzey  the 
Bliicher  of  the  day  —  Gen.  Kirby  Smith  —  The  New 
York  Zouaves  —  The  rout  of  the  Union  Army  —  Letter 
to  my  mother. 
V  CAMP  LIFE 40 

Picket  duty — Strict  discipline  of  Colonel  Steuart  — 
Characteristics  of  the  men  of  the  First  Maryland— Colonel 
Steuart  seized  by  a  sentry  —  Experiences  as  cook  and 
wood  chopper  —  A  famous  apple  pie  —  A  loaf  of  bread 
three  feet  long  —  Hard  drilling  —  Rash  enthusiasm  and 
its  consequence  —  A  letter  to  my  mother  —  Service  at 
General  Johnston's  headquarters  —  A  letter. 
VI  WINTER  QUARTERS,  1861-62 49 

Centreville  Camp  —  Approach  of  winter  —  Building 

huts  for  winter    quarters    at   Fairfax   Station  —  High 

character  of  the  men  of  our  mess  —  Letter  describing 

life  in  our  hut  —  Books  read  —  Subjects  discussed  — 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Intelligence  and  education  among  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
Confederate  Army — "Evelina"  •  —  Two  ladies  visit  camp 
—  Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  —  Religious  services  in 
camp. 

VII    A  WINTER  FURLOUGH    . 62 

Confederate  armies  melting  away  —  Offer  of  thirty 
days  furlough  for  reenlistment  —  Return  to  civilization 

—  Warm  welcome  everywhere  —  The  Southern  people 
like  one  family — Every  house  the  soldier's  home  —  My 
numerous  relatives  —  Millwood  —  Bollingbrooke — The 
mischievous  boy  at  the  Shenandoah  ford  —  Delights  of 
the  Clarke  neighborhood —  " Saratoga "  —  "Carter  Hall " 

—  "New  Market "  —  Michelet  —  Richmond  —  Inaugura 
tion  of  President  Davis  —  Fall  of  Fort  Donelson  —  Rev. 
Peyton  Harrison — Visit  to  Brandon — Jamestown  Island 

—  Fredericksburg  —  Letter  to  my  mother  —  Charlottes- 
yille  —  Return  to  camp  —  State  of  the  country  —  Relig 
ious  feeling  among  the  people. 

VIII    THE  OPENING  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1862    ....       75 

McClellan's  strategy  —  Evacuation  of  Manassas  — 
On  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock  —  Engagement  with 
the  enemy  —  Severity  of  the  weather  —  Hard  marching 

—  A  bed  of  three   fence  rails  —  No  tents  for  several 
weeks  —  Severe  exposure  —  Starvation  rations  —  Letter 
to  my  mother  —  March  to  Culpeper  —  To  Rapidan  and 
Orange  —  Hospitality  of  the  people  —  Patient  fortitude 
of  the  soldiers  —  Swimming  in  the  Rapidan  —  Beauty  of 
the   country  —  Few  reenlistments   and    the    reason  — 
Swift  Run  gap  —  Stonewall  Jackson  —  Milroy  —  Colum 
bia  bridge  —  Swift  marching  —  Almost  drowned  in  the 
Shenandoah  —  The  acme  of  the   Confederate  soldier's 
trials. 

IX    STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN    ....       90 

Stonewall  Jackson  —  His  rise  in  the  face  of  official 
prejudice  —  Characteristics  of  the  man  —  His  rigid  dis 
cipline  —  Contrast  between  him  and  Robert  E.  Lee  — 
Relations  between  the  two  men  —  Opinion  of  General 
Miles  —  Jackson  a  devout  Christian  —  Jackson  unites 
his  two  divisions  —  Attack  on  Luray — "Maryland 
whip  Maryland"  —  Gallantry  of  the  Federal  Mary- 
landers  —  Our  marching  songs  —  "Maryland,  my  Mary 
land" —  March  on  Winchester  —  Gen.  Dick  Taylor  — 
First  battle  of  Winchester  —  Enthusiastic  reception 
by  the  inhabitants  —  Death  of  Robert  Breckinridge 
McKim  —  General  Banks  —  Effect  of  the  victory  — 
Alarm  in  Washington  —  Transformation  of  the  military 
situation  in  Virginia  —  Failure  of  our  cavalry  —  Bolivar 
Heights  —  Four  armies  move  against  Jackson  —  His 
masterly  retreat  —  Peril  of  General  Winder's  force  — 
Saved  by  Jackson's  astuteness  —  Fine  service  of  the  First 
Maryland  —  Engagement  near  Harrisonburg  —  Death 
of  Ashby  —  My  promotion  —  Battle  of  Cross  Keys  — 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Defeat  of  Fremont  —  General  Steuart  wounded  —  My 
horse  shot  under  me  —  Sketch  of  General  Ewell  —  Two 
panic-stricken  men  —  Battle  of  Port  Republic  —  Defeat 
of  Shields  —  Results  of  campaign. 

X    BETWEEN  CAMPAIGNS 117 

In  attendance  on  my  wounded  general  —  Letter  to  my 
mother  —  On  duty  in  Richmond  —  Maryland  Line  — 
Staunton,  Virginia  —  Organization  of  Second  Maryland 
Regiment  —  September,  1862,  General  Steuart  at  Win 
chester  —  Organization  of  Maryland  Line  —  Post  duty 

—  Hiatus  in  my  diary  —  Letter  to  my  mother  —  General 
Steuart  takes  furlough — Winter  in  Staunton  —  A  Christ 
mas    feast  —  Decision    to   enter    Episcopal  Church  — 
Reasons  for  so  doing  —  Application  for  appointment  on 
General  Trimble's  staff. 

XI    THE  BATTLE  OF  CHANCELLORSVILLE 126 

I  report  for  duty  to  Fredericksburg  —  Some  account 
of  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville  —  Hooker's  movement 

—  His  over-confidence  —  The  audacious  strategy  of  Lee 

—  Jackson's  flank  movement  —  Mr.  Lincoln's  advice  to 
Hooker  —  Stonewall  Jackson  falls  —  Battle  continued 
next  day  —  The  genius  and  daring  of  Lee  —  Death  of 
Major  William   Duncan   McKim  —  His    interment  at 
Staunton. 

XII    THE  OPENING  OF  THE  GETTYSBURG  CAMPAIGN  .     .      .     133 

Dining  with  General  Lee  —  Report  for  duty  to  General 
Steuart — The  Third  Brigade  — Its  strength  —  Religious 
services  in  camp  —  We  break  camp  June  3d  and  march 
northward  —  Organization  of  the  army  —  Rapid  march 
toward  Winchester  —  Rev.  George  Patterson  —  Cavalry 
battle  at  Brandy  Station  —  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  defeats  Pleas- 
anton  —  Fredericksburg  to  Winchester  in  seven  days 

—  General   Milroy  surprised  —  Works  at  Winchester 
captured. 

XIII  THE  BATTLE  OF  STEPHENSON'S  DEPOT    .     .     .     .     .     148 

Night  march  —  Battle  begins  before  daylight  — 
Milroy's  attempt  to  escape — A  severe  battle  —  Out 
numbered  by  the  enemy,  at  first  —  Dement's  battery 

—  The  struggle  for  the  bridge  —  Conspicuous  gallantry 
of  the  cannoneers  —  Arrival  of  reinforcements  —  Sur 
render  of  the  enemy  —  Spoils  of  victory  —  Gallantry  of 
Steuart's  brigade. 

XIV  THE  MARCH  TO  GETTYSBURG 155 

Crossing  the  Potomac  —  Joy  of  the  Maryland  men 

—  The  justification  of  Marylanders  joining  the  Confed 
erate  Army  —  Number  of  Marylanders  in  the  service 

—  Their  peculiar  trials  —  Second  Maryland  Battalion  — 
Warm  reception  in  Shepherdstown  —  Battle  ground  of 
Sharpsburg  —  Present  of  a  battle  flag.  —  Religious 
susceptibility  of  the  men  —  Character  of  the  invasion  — 
Lee's  conception  of  war  —  General  Lee's  order  respect 
ing  private  property  —  Fine  conduct  of  the  Confeder- 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

ate  soldiers  —  Expedition  to  McConnellsburg  —  Com 
position  of  the  force  —  A  lonely  ride  —  Major  Harry 
Gilmor  —  Behavior  of  the  Confederate  in  contrast  with 
that  of  the  Federal  soldiers  —  General  Sherman's  defini 
tion  of  war  —  General  Sheridan  to  Bismarck  —  Purchase 
of  copies  of  New  Testament  —  Surprise  of  storekeeper  — 
Long  and  fatiguing  marches — We  rejoin  Johnson's 
division  —  Orders  to  countermarch  June  29th  —  Battle 
of  Gettysburg  begins. 

XV    THE  BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG:  OBSERVATIONS  AND  PER 
SONAL  INCIDENTS 168 

Object  of  the  campaign  —  Lee's  intentions  —  Advance 
upon  Harrisburg  —  Change  of  plan  and  reason  —  Colonel 
Mosby's  error  —  Purpose  to  concentrate  at  Cashtown 

—  Battle  precipitated  by  Lieutenant-General  Hill — First 
day's  fight  —  Lee  absent  —  Charge  of  Gordon's  brigade 

—  Justification  of  General  Lee's  decision  to  attack  — 
General  Ewell's  fatal  error  July  1st  —  General  Long- 
street's    failure    and    disobedience    July  2d  —  Its  dis 
astrous  result  —  Captain  Battine's  criticism  —  Charge 
of  Pickett's  division  —  The  omens  of  victory  with  the 
Confederates  —  Failure    due    to    Lee's    lieutenants  — 
Failure    also  to  coordinate    the  attacks — Gettysburg 
a   drawn   battle  —  Lee's   army   unshaken  —  He   offers 
battle  July  4th  —  Again  for  three  days  near  Hagerstown 

—  Spirit  of   Lee's  army  unbroken  —  Sufferings  of  the 
men  on  the  retreat  —  Personal  experiences  —  Iglehart 

—  The  artillery  duel   July  2d  —  Prayer  on  the  battle 
field  —  Going  to  sleep  in  the  midst  of  the  battle,  July  3d 

—  Narrow  escapes  —  Fortitude  of  the  Third  Brigade  — 
Their  heroic  conduct  —  Retreat  from  Gulp's  Hill, 

1.30  A.M.,  July  4th  —  Major  Benj.  Watkins  Leigh  — In 
cident  at  Williamsport  —  Another  incident  —  Chaplain 
Patterson  reads  the  burial  service  over  a  living  man. 

XVI    STEU ART'S  BRIGADE  AT  GETTYSBURG  —  A  NARRATIVE  .     192 

XVII    PREPARATION  FOR  THE  CHAPLAINCY 209 

Resignation  —  Letter    to    my    mother  —  Studies   at 
Staunton,  Virginia  —  Dr.  Sparrow  —  Hospital  work  — 
Unwearied  labor  of  the  Southern  women  —  Unity  of  feel 
ing  —  Licensed    to    deliver   addresses  —  Books    used  — 
Character  of  preparation  —  Anecdote  of  Dr.  Sparrow 

—  Ordained  deacon  —  Start  for  the  army  —  My  horse 
"Charlie"  —  Report  for  duty  in  Chew's  battalion  artil 
lery  —  Commission  not  issued  —  Compelled  to  leave  — 
Appointed  Chaplain  Second  Virginia  Cavalry  —  Active 
work  in  the  interim  —  Rev.  Richard  H.  Phillips  taken 
prisoner  —  Confined  at  Camp  Chase. 

FIRST  EXPERIENCE  AS  CHAPLAIN  IN  THE  FIELD 

I  join  Second  Virginia  Cavalry —  Ordered  out  to  meet 
the  enemy — Composition  of  the  Second  Virginia  —  Relig 
ious  service  twice  a  day  —  Cooperation  of  the  officers 

—  Mass  meeting  of  communicants  —  Regimental  choir 


CONTENTS  xv 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

—  Resolutions    adopted  —  Open   mindedness    of    the 
men. 

XVIII    EARLY'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864 223 

Early 's  advance  on  Washington — General  Sheridan  — 
The  Spencer  rifle  and  the  Sharp's  rifle  —  Eleven  engage 
ments  in  less  than  a  month  —  Third  battle  of  Winchester 

—  Early's  defeat  —  Good  service  of  the  cavalry  —  Front 
Royal  —  Feelings  of  a  chaplain  on  the  firing  line  — 
General    Early  and  the  chaplain  —  Early's    defeat    at 
Fisher's  Hill  —  Death    of  Captain  George  Williamson 

—  Tribute  to  him  —  Fighting  again  —  Preaching  and 
marching  —  Baptism  by  immersion  —  Thrilling  experi 
ences  on  a  blind  horse — Sheridan's  burnings  —  Wound 
ing  of  Captain  Basil  L.  Gildersleeve  —  Death  of  Prof. 
Lewis    Minor  Coleman  —  Cavalry  fight  near  Waynes- 
boro  —  Battle  of  Cedar  Creek — Answer  to  prayer  — 
Service  in  the  breastworks  —  Conferences  on  personal 
religion  —  Victory  at  Cedar  Creek  turned  into  defeat  — 
Rebukes  administered  —  Organization  of  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

—  Offer  myself  as  substitute  for  Rev.  R.  H.  Phillips — 
Frequent    engagements  —  Early    winter  —  Supply  of 
New  Testaments  —  Successful  engagement  —  Work  in 
hospital  —  Cutting  down  trees  —  My  horse  fed  with 
stolen  corn. 

XIX    THE  WINTER  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864-65       .      .  "   .      .      .     243 
Expedition  to  West  Virginia  —  Suffering  of  the  men 

—  Sleeping    under  a  blanket  of    snow  —  A   mountain 
march  —  Hardships  of  a  chaplain  —  On  sick  leave  — 
Death  of  my  father  —  Visit  to  Edge  Hill  —  Col.  Thos. 
Jefferson  Randolph  —  Virginia  Legislature  and  Emanci 
pation — Revulsion  of  feeling — Abandonment  of  the  pro 
ject — Responsibility  of  Abolitionists  —  Virginia's  record 
on  slavery  —  Mr.  B.  Johnson  Barbour  —  Cleaning  out  a 
church  —  St.  Paul's  Church,  Richmond  —  Solemnity  of 
services  —  Building  a  chapel  —  My  horse  breaks  down 

—  Sermon  in  St.  Paul's,  Richmond. 

XX    THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  DRAMA 254 

Hampton  Roads  conference  —  Preamble  and  resolu 
tions  —  Lee  made  commander-in-chief  —  Confederacy 
collapsing  —  Resources  exhausted  —  Opinion  of  Lord 
Wolseley  and  Charles  Francis  Adams  —  Journey  to 
Staunton — Condition  of  returned  Confederate  prisoners 

—  Treatment  of  Northern  prisoners  in  the  South  —  Scar 
city  of  provisions —  Grant's  refusal  to  exchange —  Com 
parative  mortality  in  Northern  and  Southern  prisons  — 
Arrival  at  Staunton  —  Return  to  the  army  —  Surrender 
of  General  Lee  —  Desertions  from  his  army  —  Why  Lee 
could  not  extricate  his  army  —  His  plans  revealed  to 
Grant  —  Did  Grant  outgeneral  Lee  in  the  retreat?  — 
Error  of  James  Ford  Rhodes  —  Scene  at  surrender  — 
Lee's  heroic  conduct  —  Tributes  to  the  soldiers  of  Lee's 
army  —  My  ride  to  Staunton  —  News  of  the  surrender 


xvi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

discredited  —  Second  Virginia  Cavalry  after  the  sur 
render —  Maryland  Cavalry  makes  the  last  march  for  the 
cause. 

CONCLUSION 277 

APPENDIX 283 

A.  The  Soldiers  of  the  South  —  An  Oration  .      .      .      .     285 

B.  Gen.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  in  the  Gettysburg  campaign 

—  A  reply  to  Col.  John  S.  Mosby 337 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

BELVIDERE,  BALTIMORE,  MD Frontispiece 

PAGE 

LIEUT.- GEN.  THOS.  J.  ("STONEWALL")  JACKSON        ....  90 

LIEUT.  RANDOLPH  H.  McKiM,  1862 110 

GEN.  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE 134 

GEN.  THOMAS  T.  MUNFORD 220 

REV.  DR.  R.  H.  McKiM,  1904 286 


xvil 


A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 


CHAPTER  I 

ON  THE    BRINK   OF   THE   MAELSTROM 

ON  a  bright  morning  in  the  month  of  April,  1861, 
there  is  a  sudden  explosion  of  excitement  at 
the  University  of  Virginia.  Shouts  and  cheers  are 
heard  from  the  various  precincts  where  the  students 
lodge.  Evidently  something  unusual  has  occurred. 
The  explanation  is  soon  found  as  one  observes  all 
eyes  turned  to  the  dome  of  the  rotunda  from  whose 
summit  the  Secession  flag  is  seen  waving.  It  has 
been  placed  there  during  the  night  by  persons  then 
unknown.  Of  course  it  has  no  right  there,  for  the 
University  is  a  State  institution  and  the  State  has  not 
seceded;  on  the  contrary  the  Constitutional  Conven 
tion  has  given  only  a  few  days  before  a  strong  vote 
for  the  Union. 

But  it  is  evident  the  foreign  flag  is  a  welcome  in 
truder  in  the  precincts  of  Jefferson's  University,  for 
a  great  throng  of  students  is  presently  assembled  on 
the  lawn  in  front  of  the  lofty  flight  of  steps  leading  up 
to  the  rotunda,  and  one  after  another  of  the  leaders  of 
the  young  men  mounts  the  steps  and  harangues  the 
crowd  in  favor  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  and 
the  Southern  flag  waving  proudly  up  there.  Among 
the  speakers  I  recall  Wm.  Randolph  Berkeley,  the 
recently  elected  orator  of  the  Jefferson  Society. 

So  general  was  the  sympathy  with  the  Southern  cause 

1 


2  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

that  not  a  voice  was  raised  in  condemnation  of  the 
rebellious  and  burglarious  act  of  the  students  who 
must  have  been  guilty  of  raising  the  Southern  flag. 
Not  so  general  was  the  approval  of  the  professors; 
some  of  these  were  strong  Union  men,  among  them  one 
who  was  deservedly  revered  by  the  whole  student 
body,  Prof.  John  B.  Minor,  the  head  of  the  Law  De 
partment.  Walking  up  under  the  arcades  to  his  lec 
ture  room,  he  was  shocked  at  the  sight  that  met  his 
eyes,  and  (so  a  wag  afterwards  reported)  broke  forth 
into  rhyme  as  follows: 

"Flag  of  my  country,  can  it  be 
That  that  rag's  up  there  instead  of  thee!" 

Meantime  the  excitement  waxed  greater  and  greater, 
so  much  so  that  the  students  forsook  their  lecture 
rooms  to  attend  the  mass-meeting  on  the  lawn.  In 
vain  did  Prof.  Schele  de  Vere  endeavor  to  fix  the 
attention  of  his  class  by  the  swelling  periods  of  his 
famous  lecture  on  Joan  of  Arc.  The  proceedings 
outside  on  the  lawn  interested  them  much  more  than 
the  tragic  fate  of  the  Maid  of  Orleans,  and  one  after 
another  they  rose  and  stalked  out  of  the  lecture  room 
to  join  in  the  overture  to  another  and  more  tremen 
dous  tragedy  then  unfolding  itself  to  the  world,  until 
the  baffled  professor  of  modern  languages  gave  up  the 
attempt  and  abruptly  closed  his  lecture. 

At  this  juncture  the  burly  form  of  Dr.  Albert  Taylor 
Bledsoe,  professor  of  mathematics,  was  seen  mount 
ing  the  steps  of  the  rotunda,  his  great  head  as  usual 
far  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  his  body.  At  once  there 
was  silence  in  the  throng.  To  him  the  students  gave 
a  respectful  attention,  such  as,  I  fear,  in  their  then 


ON  THE  BRINK  OF  THE   MAELSTROM  3 

mood,  they  would  not  have  given  to  Professor  Minor. 
For  Dr.  Bledsoe  was  an  enthusiastic  advocate  of  Seces 
sion,  to  such  an  extent  that  he  would  not  infrequently 
interlard  his  demonstration  of  some  difficult  problem 
in  differential  or  integral  calculus  —  for  example,  the 
lemniscata  of  Bernouilli — with  some  vigorous  remarks 
in  the  doctrine  of  States'  rights. 

At  this  juncture,  however,  the  big-brained  profes 
sor  spoke  to  the  young  men  in  a  somewhat  different 
strain.  He  began  by  saying  he  had  no  doubt  the  stu 
dents  who  had  put  up  that  flag  were  "the  very  nicest 
fellows  in  the  University,"  but,  inasmuch  as  the  State 
of  Virginia  had  not  yet  seceded,  the  Secession  flag  did 
not  really  belong  on  that  rotunda,  and  he  hoped  the 
students  themselves  would  take  it  down,  —  "but,"  he 
said,  " young  gentlemen,  do  it  very  tenderly." 

The  facts  of  the  case  were  these.  A  group  of  seven 
students  (of  whom  I  was  one)  bought  the  bunting 
and  had  the  flag  made,  seven  stars  and  three  bars,  by 
some  young  lady  friends  who  were  bound  to  secrecy, 
and  then,  having  supplied  themselves  with  augers  and 
small  saws,  they  went  to  work  after  midnight  and  sawed 
their  way  through  five  doors  to  gain  access  to  the  roof 
of  the  rotunda,  where,  in  their  stocking  feet,  they  at 
length  succeeded,  not  without  risk  of  a  fatal  fall,  in 
giving  the  " Stars  and  Bars"  to  the  breeze,  just  as  the 
first  faint  streaks  of  dawn  appeared  on  the  eastern 
hills.  They  then  scattered  and  betook  themselves  to 
bed,  and  were  the  last  men  in  the  University  to  hear 
the  news  that  the  Secession  flag  was  floating  over  the 
rotunda! 

It  was  not  many  days  after  this  occurrence  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  issued  his  proclamation  calling  upon  Virginia 


4  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

to  furnish  her  quota  of  troops  to  coerce  the  seceded 
States  back  into  the  Union,  and  thereby  instantly 
transformed  the  old  Commonwealth  from  a  Union 
State  into  a  seceded  State.  All  differences  now  dis 
appeared  among  her  statesmen  and  her  people,  and 
Virginia  with  entire  unanimity  threw  in  her  lot  with 
her  Southern  sisters  "for  better,  for  worse,  for  weal 
or  for  woe." 

It  was  the  threat  of  invasion  that  revolutionized  the 
:  position  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  In  illustration  of 
this  I  refer  to  the  case  of  a  talented  young  man  from 
Richmond  who  had  been  an  extreme  and  uncompro 
mising  " Union  man"  -the  most  extreme  among  all 
the  students  at  the  University.  He  was  also  bold  and 
aggressive  in  the  advocacy  of  his  opinions,  so  much  so 
that  he  became  very  unpopular,  and  his  friends  feared 
" serious  trouble  and  even  bloody  collision."  The 
morning  President  Lincoln's  proclamation  appeared 
he  had  gone  down  town  on  personal  business  before 
breakfast,  and  while  there  happened  to  glance  at  a 
paper.  He  returned  at  once  to  the  University,  but  not 
to  breakfast;  spoke  not  a  word  to  any  human  being; 
packed  his  trunk  with  his  belongings;  left  a  note  for 
the  chairman  of  the  faculty  explaining  his  conduct; 
boarded  the  first  train  for  Richmond,  and  joined  a 
military  company  before  going  to  his  father's  house 
or  taking  so  much  as  a  morsel  of  food.  What  was  the 
overwhelming  force  which  thus  in  a  moment  trans 
formed  this  splendid  youth?  Was  it  not  the  God- 
implanted  instinct  which  impels  a  man  to  defend  his 
own  hearthstone  ?  1 

1  The  story  is  told  by  Major  Robert  Stiles  in  his  "Four  Years  under 
Marse  Robert." 


ON  THE  BRINK  OF  THE   MAELSTROM  5 

The  visitor  to  the  University  to-day  will  see  on  the 
rotunda  porch  two  large  bronze  tablets  on  the  right 
and  left  of  the  central  door,  on  which  are  graven  the 
names  of  the  alumni  who  laid  down  their  lives  in  the 
Civil  War  for  the  independence  of  the  South.  There 
are  just  five  hundred  and  three  names. 

The  number  itself  is  significant.  If  five  hundred 
died,  there  must  have  been  more  than  two  thousand 
five  hundred,  perhaps  as  many  as  three  thousand,  on 
the  rolls  of  the  Confederate  armies,  who  called  this 
University  mother.  We  have  no  accurate  register 
of  the  number  of  alumni  who  were  living  in  1861  and 
fit  for  military  service.  But  we  do  know  that  of  the 
six  hundred  and  twenty-five  who  were  students  here 
when  the  tocsin  of  war  sounded,  five  hundred  and 
thirty  hailed  from  the  seceding  States,  and  about 
five  hundred  and  fifteen  went  to  the  front.  Two 
of  the  professors  followed  their  students,  —  our  illus 
trious  professor  of  Greek,  Basil  L.  Gildersleeve,  who 
was  wounded  fighting  with  Gordon  in  the  valley  of 
Virginia  —  he  still  lives,  thank  God !  to  adorn  Amer 
ican  scholarship  --  and  Lewis  Minor  Coleman,  our 
right  royal  professor  of  Latin,  who  fell  gloriously 
while  commanding  a  battalion  of  artillery  at  Freder- 
icksburg. 

These  numbers  are  significant.  They  bear  eloquent 
witness,  not  only  to  the  gallantry  of  our  brother  alumni, 
but  to  the  unanimity  of  the  Southern  people  in  that 
great  struggle,  and  they  afford  convincing  proof  of 
the  falsity  of  the  theory,  held  by  some  historians  of  the 
Civil  War,  that  the  uprising  of  the  Southern  people 
was  the  result  of  a  conspiracy  of  a  few  ambitious 
leaders.  When  we  see  five  hundred  and  fifteen  out  of 


6  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

six  hundred  and  twenty-five  students,1  representing 
the  flower  of  the  intellect  and  culture  of  the  South  - 
its  yeomen  as  well  as  its  aristocracy  —  spring  to  arms 
at  the  first  sound  of  the  long  roll,  we  realize  that  the 
resistance  offered  to  coercion  in  1861  was  in  no  sense 
artificial,  but  free  and  spontaneous,  and  that  it  was 
the  act  of  the  people,  not  of  the  politicians. 

This  conclusion  may  be  fortified  by  a  comparison 
with  the  record  of  a  great  New  England  university. 
The  memorial  tablets  at  Harvard  contain  the  names 
of  one  hundred  and  seventeen  of  her  alumni  who  gave 
their  lives  to  the  cause  of  the  Union,  while  the  whole 
number  who  entered  the  Union  army  and  navy  was  nine 
hundred  and  thirty-eight.  If  the  same  proportion  of 
loss  held  among  the  men  of  our  Alma  Mater,  then  there 
would  have  been  four  thousand  students  and  alumni 
of  the  University  of  Virginia  in  the  army  and  navy  of 
the  Confederate  States.  But  the  proportion  of  killed 
in  action  was  greater  on  our  side,  so  that  this  total 
must  be  much  reduced.  We  know  from  the  records 
that  not  less  than  two  thousand  five  hundred  of  the 
men  who  followed  the  battle  flag  of  the  Southern  Cross 
were  sons  of  this  Virginia  University.  The  actual 
number  was  probably  considerably  larger.  Thus 
though  her  students  and  alumni  of  military  age  were 
less  numerous  than  those  of  Harvard,  in  something 
like  the  proportion  of  four  to  seven,  yet  there  were  more 
than  three  times  as  many  of  them  serving  with  the 
colors  in  the  great  conflict;  and  while  one  hundred  and 
seventeen  men  of  the  Cambridge  university  laid  down 

1  This  number  represents  all  the  students  from  all  the  States,  North 
as  well  as  South.  Not  a  few  came  from  localities  which  were  not  in 
sympathy  with  the  South. 


ON  THE  BRINK  OF  THE   MAELSTROM  7 

their  lives  for  the  Union,  five  hundred  and  three  of 
the  men  of  the  University  of  Virginia  died  for  the 
Southern  cause  —  more  than  four  times  as  many. 

As  I  think  of  some  of  these  brave  young  fellows,  I 
recall  the  scene  that  used  to  be  presented  many  an 
afternoon  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  directly  to  the  south 
of  the  University  lawn  —  D'Alphonse,  the  stalwart 
professor  of  gymnastics,  leading  his  numerous  pupils 
in  singing  the  "Marsellaise,"  or  "Les  Girondins." 
The  clear  fresh  voices  of  those  fine  young  fellows  come 
back  to  me  as  I  write,  —  the  fine  tenor  of  Robert 
Falligant  rising  above  the  rest, —  singing: 

"Par  la  voix  du  cannon  d'alarme, 
La  France  appelle  ses  enfants, 
Aliens,  dit  le  soldat,  aux  armes, 
C'est  ma  mere,  je  la  defends. 

Chorus,  "Mourir  pour  la  patrie, 
Mourir  pour  la  patrie, 
C'est  le  sort  le  plus  beau 
Le  plus  digne  d'envie!" 

Alas!  how  soon  and  how  unexpectedly  were  those 
words  to  be  exemplified  on  the  field  of  battle,  in  the 
gallant  deaths  of  many  who  sang  them  then,  with  little 
realization  of  their  possible  significance  for  them. 

There  were  two  military  companies  organized  at 
the  University  the  autumn  before  the  fateful  cloud 
of  Civil  War  burst  upon  the  land.  These  were  in  no 
way  connected  with  the  organization  of  the  institution, 
but  were  purely  private  and  voluntary.  One  called 
itself  "The  Sons  of  Liberty,"  the  other  took  the  name 
of  "The  Southern  Guard."  To  the  latter  I  belonged, 
and  when  Virginia  joined  the  Confederacy,  these  two 


8  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

companies  of  boys  were  ordered  to  Winchester,  Va., 
to  join  in  the  movement  of  Gen.  Thomas  J.  Jackson 
against  Harper's  Ferry. 

I  remember  that  after  a  long  railway  ride  in  box 
cars  (which  sadly  tarnished  our  uniforms)  we  were 
detrained  at  Strasburg,  and  marched  to  Winchester, 
eighteen  miles  distant,  beating  handsomely  in  the  march 
the  regular  companies  of  State  militia  that  formed 
part  of  the  expedition. 

The  two  University  companies  remained  several 
weeks  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  were  then  very  properly 
ordered  back  to  their  studies.  I  did  not  tarry  so  long, 
but  made  my  way  to  Baltimore,  where  stirring  scenes 
had  been  witnessed  on  the  19th  of  April,  when  the 
Massachusetts  troops  en  route  to  Washington  were 
attacked  by  the  populace. 

Arrived  there  I  very  soon  found  "  no  thing  would  be 
doing,"  -  advices  from  Confederate  headquarters  in 
Virginia  discouraging  any  attempt  in  that  quarter, 
and  so  after  about  a  week's  sojourn,  I  returned  to  the 
University,  promising  my  mother  to  stay  till  the  end 
of  the  session. 

While  in  Baltimore  at  dear  old  "Belvidere,"  the 
beautiful  home  of  my  childhood  and  boyhood,  I  had 
to  endure  the  pain  of  my  father's  displeasure,  because 
of  my  espousal  of  the  Southern  cause.  He  himself 
had  been  in  warm  personal  sympathy  with  the  South, 
but  through  the  strong  intellectual  influence  of  a  near 
relative  his  political  sympathy  had  been  turned  to  the 
North.  His  heart  was  with  my  mother's  people,  but 
his  head  turned  him  to  the  side  of  the  Union.  I  men 
tion  it  because  this  difference  was,  by  reason  of  our 
great  mutual  attachment,  very  painful  to  us  both. 


ON  THE  BRINK  OF  THE   MAELSTROM  9 

In  an  interview  between  us,  when  he  had  expressed 
himself  in  severe  condemnation  of  my  course,  I  turned 
and  said  with  much  feeling,  "Well,  father,  I  comfort 
myself  with  the  promise,  'When  my  father  and  my 
mother  forsake  me,  then  the  Lord  will  take  me  up.": 
And  so  we  parted  never  to  meet  again,  for  he  died 
in  January,  1865.  A  noble  and  high-minded  man  he 
was,  and  particularly  devoted  to  me.  Nothing  but 
the  strongest  conviction  of  duty  could  have  led  me  to 
act  contrary  to  his  wishes.  During  the  whole  war  I 
constantly  sent  him  messages  of  love,  and  sometimes 
wrote  to  him.  When  my  marriage  took  place,  Feb 
ruary  26,  1863,  he  sent  my  bride  a  beautiful  present 
with  his  likeness.  My  first  child  was  named  for  him, 
"John,"  to  which  I  added  "Duncan"  for  my  much- 
loved  cousin.  When  my  ordination  was  approaching, 
in  April,  1864,  I  wrote  him  as  follows: 

"My  father,  I  ask  to  be  remembered  at  the  family  altar, 
that  God  may  prepare  me  for  the  responsible  office  which  I  am 
about  tremblingly  to  undertake  after  seven  months'  study." 

No  picture  of  this  crucial  epoch  is  a  true  one  which 
suppresses  these  most  painful  divisions  of  sentiment 
which  often  occurred  in  devoted  families. 

When  I  returned  to  the  University  I  had  lost,  first 
and  last,  six  weeks  at  a  critical  part  of  my  course. 
My  "tickets,"  this  my  second  year,  were  French, 
German,  moral  philosophy,  and  senior  mathematics. 
I  determined  to  drop  German  and  concentrate  on  the 
other  three  schools.  And  then,  finding  the  "math." 
examination  coming  on  in  ten  days,  I  gave  my  whole 
time  to  preparation  for  that  severe  test.  Such  was 
the  excitement  among  the  students,  many  of  whom 


10  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

were  already  leaving  to  join  the  Army,  that  study  was 
very  difficult,  so  I  betook  myself  to  a  little  one-room 
structure  at  the  foot  of  Carr's  Hill  on  the  north  side, 
isolated  from  other  buildings,  and  there  studied  the 
differential  and  integral  calculus  from  twelve  to  four 
teen  hours  a  day  for  the  ten  days  before  examination, 
Sunday  excepted,  with  the  result  that  on  the  day  of 
the  test  I  soon  developed  a  severe  headache,  which 
nearly  cost  me  my  diploma.  However,  I  passed,  and 
later  passed  also  in  my  other  tickets,  and  received 
the  three  diplomas  on  Commencement  day,  much  to 
my  satisfaction. 

These,  with  diplomas  in  Latin  and  Greek  taken  the 
previous  year,  made  the  path  clear  to  the  coveted  and 
difficult  honor  of  M.A.  the  third  year.1  But  that  "  third 
year  "  never  came.  It  was  "  knocked  out "  by  four  years 
in  the  school  of  war  under  Stonewall  Jackson  and  Lee. 
And  when  these  were  passed,  I  had  entered  on  the 
active  duties  of  life. 

I  wrote  to  my  mother,  June  20th,  as  follows:  "I 
stand  moral  philosophy  on  Tuesday  next.  To-morrow 
and  next  day  I  am  to  read  two  essays  in  the  Moral 
class,  —  one  on  two  of  Butler's  sermons,  one  on  a 
chapter  in  the  Analogy.  I  got  through  French  exam 
ination  very  well,  I  believe,  but  I  am  scared  about 
my  last  math,  examination.  I  find  that  I  mistook 
one  of  the  questions." 

1  On  an  average  not  more  than  a  dozen  students  made  the  "M.A." 
in  a  year. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    CONSTITUTIONAL    ISSUE    INVOLVED    IN    THE 
CIVIL   WAR 

SOMETHING  may  here  be  appropriately  said, 
before  proceeding  with  my  narrative,  upon  the 
constitutional  question  involved  in  the  action  taken 
by  Virginia  in  seceding  from  the  Union,  and  the  action 
of  these  young  men  at  the  University  in  obeying  her 
summons  and  rallying  to  the  standard  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy. 

Virginia  loved  the  Union  which  her  illustrious  sons 
had  done  so  much  to  establish.  She  refused  to  secede 
from  the  Union  until  she  was  called  upon  to  assist  in 
the  work  of  coercing  the  already  seceded  States  back 
into  the  Union.  This  she  refused  to  do.  She  would 
not  raise  her  arm  to  strike  down  her  Southern  sisters. 
She  would  not  be  a  party  to  the  coercion  of  a  sovereign 
State  by  the  general  government.  That,  she  had  been 
taught  by  the  fathers  of  the  Constitution,  Washing 
ton,  Madison,  Jefferson,  and  Hamilton,  was  an  uncon 
stitutional  act.  Alexander  Hamilton  had  denounced 
the  proposal  to  coerce  a  State  as  a  mad  project. 
Edmund  Randolph  said  it  meant  " civil  war."  So 
the  project  was  abandoned  in  the  Constitutional  Con 
vention.  Her  people  believed  that  the  several  States 
possessed  the  inalienable  right  of  dissolving  the  com 
pact  with  their  sister  States  whenever  they  became 

11 


12  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

convinced  that  their  sacred  rights  were  no  longer 
safe  in  the  Union. 

All  acknowledge  that  the  right  of  Secession  does 
not  exist  to-day.  The  fourteenth  amendment  has 
changed  the  character  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 
The  surrender  at  Appomattox,  moreover,  involved 
the  surrender  of  the  right  of  Secession.  Since  the  9th 
of  April,  1865,  the  Union  has  been  indissoluble.  That 
is  universally  acknowledged  in  the  South  to-day.  But 
it  was  not  so  in  1861.  Logically  and  historically 
the  weight  of  evidence  is  clearly  on  the  side  of 
those  who  hold  that  the  right  of  withdrawing  from 
the  Union  existed  from  the  foundation  of  the  gov 
ernment. 

Mr.  Madison,  the  " father  of  the  Constitution," 
held  that,  in  adopting  the  Constitution,  "they  were 
making  a  government  of  a  Federal  nature,  consisting 
of  many  co-equal  sovereignties."  Washington  held 
that  the  Union  then  formed  was  "a  compact."  In  a 
letter  to  Madison,  Aug.  3,  1788,  he  uses  this  language, 
"till  the  States  begin  to  act  under  the  new  compact." 
John  Marshall  said  in  the  debate  on  the  adoption  of 
the  Constitution:  "It  is  a  maxim  that  those  who  give 
may  take  away.  It  is  the  people  that  give  power, 
and  can  take  it  back.  Who  shall  restrain  them?  They 
are  the  masters  who  give  it."  This  was  said  in  discuss 
ing  Virginia's  right  "to  resume  her  powers  if  abused." 
Whatever  he  may  have  held  late  in  life,  this  was  his 
opinion  in  1788  in  the  great  debate  on  the  Constitution. 
He  was  then  in  his  thirty-third  year.  See  Elliott's 
Debates,  III,  p.  227.  It  is  an  historical  fact  that  the 
Constitution  was  regarded  as  a  compact  between  the 
States  by  the  leaders  of  opinion  in  New  England  for 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  ISSUE  13 

at  least  forty  years  after  its  adoption.  In  the  same 
quarter  the  sovereignty  of  the  States  was  broadly 
affirmed,  and  also  the  right  of  a  State  to  resume,  if  need 
be,  the  powers  granted  or  delegated  under  the  Consti 
tution.  When  Samuel  Adams  objected  to  the  preamble 
because  it  expressed  the  idea  of  "a  National  Govern 
ment  instead  of  a  Federal  Union  of  sovereign  States," 
Governor  Hancock  brought  in  the  tenth  amendment 
reserving  to  the  States  all  the  powers  not  expressly 
delegated  to  the  General  Government. 

Webster  and  Story  apostatized  from  the  New  Eng 
land  interpretation  of  the  Constitution.  I  may  here 
recall  the  fact  that  the  first  threat  of  Secession  came 
from  the  men  of  New  England.  Four  times  before 
the  Secession  of  South  Carolina,  Secession  was  threat 
ened  in  the  North,  —  in  1802-1803,  in  1811-1812, 
in  1814,  and  in  1844-1845.  The  first  time  it  came 
from  Col.  Timothy  Pickering,  of  Massachusetts,  a 
friend  of  Washington  and  a  member  of  his  Cabi 
net;  the  second  time  from  Josiah  Quincy,  another 
distinguished  citizen  of  Massachusetts;  the  third  time 
from  the  Hartford  Convention  of  1814;  and  the  fourth 
time  from  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts.  Josiah 
Quincy  in  the  debate  on  the  admission  of  Louisiana, 
Jan.  14,  1811,  declared  his  "  deliberate  opinion  that, 
if  the  bill  passes,  the  bonds  of  this  Union  are  virtually 
dissolved,  ...  as  it  will  be  the  right  of  all  [the  States], 
so  it  will  be  the  duty  of  some,  to  prepare  definitely 
for  a  separation,  —  amicably  if  they  can,  violently 
if  they  must."  In  1812  pulpit,  press,  and  rostrum  in 
New  England  advocated  Secession.  In  1839  John 
Quincy  Adams  declared  "the  people  of  each  State 
have  a  right  to  secede  from  the  Confederated  Union." 


14  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

In  1844  and  again  in  1845  the  Legislature  of  Massa 
chusetts  avowed  the  right  to  secede  and  threatened  to 
exercise  the  right  if  Texas  should  be  admitted  to  the 
Union.  This  was  its  language: 

"The  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  faithful  to  the 
compact  between  the  people  of  the  United  States,  according 
to  the  plain  meaning  and  intent  in  which  it  was  understood 
by  them,  is  sincerely  anxious  for  its  preservation,  but  it  is 
determined,  as  it  doubts  not  the  other  States  are,  to  submit 
to  undelegated  powers  in  no  body  of  men  on  earth." 

This  expresses  exactly  the  attitude  of  the  seceding 
States  in  1861.  Thus  the  North  and  the  South  at 
these  two  epochs  (only  a  dozen  years  apart)  held  the 
same  view  of  the  right  of  withdrawal  from  the  Union. 
And  the  ground  of  their  apprehension  was  very  sim 
ilar.  New  England  believed  that  the  admission  of 
Louisiana  and  Texas  would  give  the  South  a  prepon 
derance  of  power  in  the  Union,  and  hence  that  her  rights 
within  the  Union  would  no  longer  be  secure.  The  cot 
ton  States  believed  that  the  election  of  a  sectional 
President  by  a  party  pledged  to  the  abolition  of  sla 
very  gave  the  North  a  preponderance  of  power  in  the 
Union  and  left  their  rights  insecure.  And  when  Vir 
ginia  beheld  the  newly  elected  President  preparing 
to  coerce  the  seceding  States  by  force  of  arms,  she  be 
lieved  that  the  Constitution  was  being  violated,  and 
that  her  place  was  now  with  her  Southern  sisters. 

It  is  a  fact  full  of  significance  that  even  Alexander 
Hamilton,  strong  Federalist  as  he  was,  could  threaten 
Jefferson  with  the  Secession  of  New  England,  "  unless 
the  debts  of  the  States  were  assumed  by  the  General 
Government."  And  Madison  spoke  of  the  thirteen 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  ISSUE  15 

States  as  "thirteen  sovereignties,"  and  again  he  said, 
"Each  State,  in  ratifying  the  Constitution,  is  consid 
ered  as  a  sovereign  body." 

Daniel  Webster,  in  1830  and  again  in  1833,  argued 
that  the  Constitution  was  not  a  " compact,"  not  a  "con 
federacy,"  and  that  the  acts  of  ratification  were  not 
"acts  of  accession."  These  terms,  he  said,  would  imply 
the  right  of  Secession,  but  they  were  terms  unknown 
to  the  fathers;  they  formed  a  "new  vocabulary,"  in 
vented  to  uphold  the  theory  of  State  sovereignty. 
But  in  this  Mr.  Webster  was  wholly  mistaken. 
Those  terms  we  now  know  were  in  familiar  use  in 
the  great  debates  on  the  Constitution.  In  1787  Mr. 
Gerry,  of  Massachusetts,  said,  "If  nine  out  of  thirteen 
States  can  dissolve  the  compact  (i.e.,  the  Articles 
of  Confederation),  six  out  of  nine  will  be  just  as 
able  to  dissolve  the  new  one."  (It  had  been  agreed 
that  the  consent  of  nine  out  of  the  thirteen  States 
should  be  sufficient  to  establish  the  new  government.) 
Gouverneur  Morris,  Alexander  Hamilton,  Washington 
all  spoke  of  the  Constitution  as  a  "Compact,"  and 
of  the  new  government  as  a  "Confederacy."  Both 
Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire,  in  their  acts  of 
ratification,  refer  to  the  Constitution  as  a  "solemn 
Compact."  We  have  then  the  authority  of  Webster 
himself  for  the  opinion  that  these  terms  implied  the 
right  of  Secession. 

Nor  is  this  all.  Virginia,  New  York,  and  Rhode 
Island  all  declared  in  their  acts  of  ratification  that  the 
powers  granted  by  them  to  the  General  Government 
"may  be  resumed  by  them."  Thus  the  right  of  Seces 
sion  was  solemnly  asserted  in  the  very  acts  by  which 
these  States  ratified  the  Constitution.  That  asser 
tion  was  part  of  the  ratification.  The  ratification  was 


16  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

conditioned  by  it.  And  the  acceptance  of  these  States 
as  members  of  the  Union  carried  with  it  the  acceptance 
of  the  Constitution  and  the  recognition  of  the  right  of 
Secession. 

This  was  recognized  by  Webster  in  his  maturer 
years.  See  his  speech  at  Capon  Springs,  W.  Va.,  in  1851. 

I  have  thought  it  just  to  my  comrades  of  whom  I 
am  to  write  in  these  pages  to  give  at  the  outset  this 
defence  of  the  course  they  took  in  1861.  They  fol 
lowed  that  interpretation  of  the  Constitution  which 
they  received  from  their  fathers  —  from  Jefferson  and 
Madison  and  Washington  —  rather  than  that  which 
can  claim  no  older  or  greater  names  than  those  of  Story 
and  Webster. 

These  arguments  appeared  to  us  convincing  then. 
They  are  no  less  convincing  to-day  from  the  standpoint 
of  things  as  they  were  in  1861.  And  we  appeal  to 
the  candid  judgment  of  history  to  decide  whether, 
believing  as  we  did,  we  were  not  justified  in  doing  what 
we  did.  The  most  recent,  and  one  of  the  ablest, 
of  Northern  historians  acknowledges  that  "a  large 
majority  of  the  people  of  the  South  believed  in  the 
constitutional  right  of  Secession/7  and  as  a  consequence 
believed  that  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  National 
Government  was  "a  war  of  subjugation."  But  surely 
it  is  an  act  of  patriotism  to  resist  a  war  of  subjuga 
tion,  spoliation,  and  conquest,  and  by  that  standard 
the  soldiers  of  the  Confederate  Armies  must  go  down 
to  history  not  as  traitors,  but  as  patriots.  Our  argu 
ment  for  the  constitutional  right  of  withdrawing  from 
the  Union  may,  or  may  not,  appear  conclusive,  but  at 
least  the  right  of  revolution,  asserted  by  our  sires  in 
1776,  cannot  be  denied  to  their  descendants  of  1861. 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  ISSUE  17 

On  that  ground  I  claim  the  assent  even  of  those  who 
still  stoutly  deny  the  right  of  Secession  to  the  asser 
tion  that  the  armies  of  the  South  were  composed  not 
of  traitors,  but  of  patriots. 

There  was  a  time,  during  those  dark  days  of  Recon 
struction,  when  public  opinion  in  the  North  demanded 
that  we,  who  had  fought  under  the  Southern  flag,  should 
prove  the  sincerity  of  our  acceptance  of  the  results 
of  the  war  by  acknowledging  the  unrighteousness  of 
our  cause  and  by  expressing  contrition  for  the  course 
we  pursued. 

But  could  we  acknowledge  our  cause  to  be  unright 
eous  when  we  believed  it  just?  Could  we  repent  of 
an  act  done  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  conscience? 
Our  late  antagonists  —  now,  thank  God,  our  friends 
-may  claim  that  our  judgment  was  at  fault;  that 
our  action  was  not  justified  by  sound  reasoning;  that 
the  fears  that  goaded  us  to  withdraw  from  the  Union 
were  not  well  grounded;  but,  so  long  as  it  is  acknowl 
edged  that  we  followed  duty  as  we  understood  it, 
they  cannot  ask  us  to  repent.  We  could  not  repent 
of  obeying  the  dictates  of  conscience  in  the  face  of 
hardship,  danger,  and  death! 

And  now  I  turn  to  the  consideration  of  a  grievous 
reproach  often  directed  against  the  men  who  fought 
in  the  armies  of  the  South  in  the  Civil  War.  When 
we  claim  for  them  the  crown  of  patriotism,  when 
we  aver  that  they  drew  their  swords  in  what  they 
believed  to  be  the  cause  of  liberty  and  self-govern 
ment,  it  is  answered  that  the  corner-stone  of  the  South 
ern  Confederacy  was  slavery,  and  that  the  soldiers  who 
fought  under  the  banner  of  the  Southern  Cross  were  fight 
ing  for  the  perpetuation  of  the  institution  of  slavery. 


18  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

That  is  a  statement  which  I  wish  to  repudiate  with 
all  the  earnestness  of  which  I  am  capable.  It  does  a 
grievous  injustice  to  half  a  million  patriot  soldiers 
who  were  animated  by  as  pure  a  love  of  liberty  as 
ever  throbbed  in  the  bosom  of  man,  and  who  made 
as  splendid  an  exhibition  of  self-sacrifice  on  her  behalf 
as  any  soldiers  who  ever  fought  on  any  field  since 
history  began. 

In  the  first  place,  I  ask,  If  slavery  was  the  corner 
stone  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  what  are  we  to  say 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States?  That  instru 
ment  as  originally  adopted  by  the  thirteen  colonies 
contained  three  sections  which  recognized  slavery. 
(Art.  1,  Sec.  2  and  9,  and  Art.  4,  Sec.  2.)  And  whereas 
the  Constitution  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  prohib 
ited  the  slave  trade,  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  prohibited  the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  for 
twenty  years  (1789-1808) !  And  if  the  men  of  the  South 
are  reproached  for  denying  liberty  to  three  and  a  half 
millions  of  human  beings,  at  the  same  time  that  they 
professed  to  be  waging  a  great  war  for  their  own  lib 
erty,  what  are  we  to  say  of  the  revolting  colonies  of 
1776  who  rebelled  against  the  British  crown  to  achieve 
their  liberty  while  slavery  existed  in  every  one  of 
the  thirteen  colonies  undisturbed?  Cannot  those  his 
torians  who  deny  that  the  South  fought  for  liberty, 
because  they  held  the  blacks  in  bondage,  see  that 
upon  the  same  principle  they  must  impugn  the  sincer 
ity  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence? 
We  ask  the  candid  historian  to  answer  this  question: 
If  the  colonists  of  1776  were  freemen  fighting  for  lib 
erty,  though  holding  the  blacks  in  slavery  in  every 
one  of  the  thirteen  colonies,  why  is  the  title  of  soldiers 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  ISSUE  19 

of  liberty  denied  the  Southern  men  of  1861,  because 
they  too  held  the  blacks  in  bondage?  Slavery  was 
an  inheritance  which  the  people  of  the  South  received 
from  the  fathers,  and  if  the  States  of  the  North,  within 
fifty  years  after  the  Revolution,  abolished  the  insti 
tution,  it  cannot  be  claimed  that  the  abolition  was 
dictated  by  moral  considerations,  but  by  differences 
of  climate,  soil,  and  industrial  interests. 

Let  me  here  state  a  fact  of  capital  importance  in 
this  connection:  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  emancipa 
tion  was  rapidly  spreading  in  the  South  in  the  first 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Wilson  acknowl 
edges  that  "  there  was  no  avowed  advocate  of  slavery " 
in  Virginia  at  that  time.  In  the  year  1826  there  were 
one  hundred  and  forty-three  emancipation  societies 
in  the  United  States,  and  of  these,  one  hundred  and 
three  were  in  the  South.  So  strong  was  the  sentiment 
in  Virginia  for  emancipation  that,  in  the  year  1832, 
one  branch  of  her  Legislature  came  near  passing  a 
law  for  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery;  and  I  was 
assured  in  1860  by  Col.  Thomas  Jefferson  Randolph, 
who  was  himself  a  member  of  the  Legislature  that 
year,  that  emancipation  would  certainly  have  been 
carried  at  the  next  session  but  for  the  reaction  created 
by  the  fanatical  agitation  of  the  subject  by  the  Abo 
litionists,  led  by  Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison.  Though 
emancipation  was  defeated  at  that  time  by  a  small  vote, 
yet  the  Legislature  passed  a  resolution  postponing  the 
consideration  of  the  subject  till  public  opinion  had 
further  developed.  The  Richmond  Whig  of  March  6, 
1832,  said:  "The  great  mass  of  Virginia  herself  rejoices 
that  the  slavery  question  has  been  taken  up  by  the 
Legislature,  that  her  legislators  are  grappling  with  the 


20  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

monster/7  etc.  A  Massachusetts  writer,  George  Lunt, 
says:  "The  States  of  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  Ten 
nessee  were  engaged  in  practical  movements  for  the 
gradual  emancipation  of  their  slaves.  This  movement 
continued  until  it  was  arrested  by  the  aggressions  of 
the  Abolitionists.'7 

These  facts  are  beyond  dispute:  1.  That  from  1789 
down  to  1837  slavery  was  almost  universally  consid 
ered  in  the  South  a  great  evil;  2.  That  public  opinion 
there  underwent  a  revolution  on  this  subject  in  the 
decade  1832-1842.  What  produced  this  fateful  change 
of  sentiment?  Not  the  invention  of  the  cotton  gin, 
for  that  took  place  in  1793.  No,  but  the  abolition 
crusade  launched  by  Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison,  Jan.  1, 
1831.  Its  violence  and  virulence  produced  the  result 
that  might  have  been  expected.  It  angered  the  South. 
It  stifled  discussion.  It  checked  the  movement  toward 
emancipation.  It  forced  a  more  stringent  policy  toward 
the  slave.  The  publication  of  Garrison's  " Liberator" 
was  followed,  seven  months  later,  by  Nat  Turner's 
negro  insurrection  in  which  sixty-one  persons  —  men, 
women,  and  children  —  were  murdered  in  the  night. 
President  Jackson,  in  his  message  of  1835,  called  atten 
tion  to  the  transmission  through  the  mails  "of  inflam 
matory  appeals  addressed  to  the  passions  of  the  slaves, 
in  prints  and  various  sorts  of  publications,  calculated 
to  stimulate  them  to  insurrection,  and  to  produce  all 
the  horrors  of  a  servile  war." 

The  conclusion  is  irresistible  that  but  for  that  vio 
lent  and  fanatical  movement  slavery  would  have  been 
peaceably  abolished  in  Virginia,  and  then  in  other 
Southern  States. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  I  would  like  to  recall 


THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  ISSUE  21 

one  or  two  historical  facts.  Not  the  Southern  people, 
but  the  Government  of  Great  Britain,  must  be  held  re 
sponsible  for  American  slavery.  The  colony  of  Virginia 
protested  again,  and  again,  and  again  to  the  British 
King  against  sending  slaves  to  her  shores  —  but  her  pro 
test  was  in  vain.  In  1760  South  Carolina  passed  an  act 
prohibiting  the  further  importation  of  slaves,  but  Eng 
land  rejected  it  with  indignation.  Let  it  be  remem 
bered,  too,  that  Virginia  was  the  first  of  all  the  States, 
North  and  South,  to  prohibit  the  slave  trade,  and  Georgia 
was  the  first  to  incorporate  such  a  prohibition  in  her 
Constitution.  Virginia  was  in  fact  in  advance  of  the 
whole  world  on  this  subject.  She  abolished  the  slave 
trade  in  1778,  nearly  thirty  years  before  England  did 
the  same,  and  the  same  length  of  time  before  New 
England  was  willing  to  consent  to  its  abolition. 

But  I  am  chiefly  concerned  to  show  that  my  com 
rades  and  brothers,  of  whom  I  write  in  these  pages, 
did  not  draw  their  swords  in  defence  of  the  institution 
of  slavery.  They  were  not  thinking  of  their  slaves 
when  they  cast  all  in  the  balance  —  their  lives,  their 
fortunes,  their  sacred  honor  —  and  went  forth  to  endure 
the  hardships  of  the  camp  and  the  march  and  the  perils 
of  the  battle  field.  They  did  not  suffer,  they  did  not 
fight,  they  did  not  die,  for  the  privilege  of  holding  their 
fellow  men  in  bondage! 

No,  it  was  for  the  sacred  right  of  self-government" 
that  they  fought.  It  was  in  defence  of  their  homes 
and  their  firesides.  It  was  to  repel  the  invader,  to 
resist  a  war  of  subjugation.  It  was  in  vindication  of 
the  principle  enunciated  in  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence  that  "governments  derive  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the  governed." 


22  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Only  a  very  small  minority  of  the  men  who  fought 
in  the  Southern  armies  —  not  one  in  ten  —  were  finan 
cially  interested  in  the  institution  of  slavery.  We 
cared  little  or  nothing  about  it.  To  establish  our  inde 
pendence  we  would  at  any  time  have  gladly  surren 
dered  it.  If  any  three  men  may  be  supposed  to  have 
known  the  object  for  which  the  war  was  waged,  they 
were  these:  Abraham  Lincoln,  Jefferson  Davis,  and 
Robert  E.  Lee.  Their  decision  agrees  with  what  I  have 
stated.  Mr.  Lincoln  consistently  held  and  declared 
that  the  object  of  the  war  was  the  restoration  of  the 
Union,  not  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves.  Mr.  Davis 
as  positively  declared  that  the  South  was  fighting 
for  independence,  not  for  slavery.  And  Robert  E. 
Lee  expressed  his  opinion  by  setting  all  his  slaves 
free  Jan.  8,  1863,  and  then  going  on  with  the  war  for 
more  than  two  years  longer.  In  February,  1861,  Mr. 
Davis  wrote  to  his  wife  in  these  words,  "In  any  case 
our  slave  property  will  eventually  be  lost."  Thus  the 
political  head  of  the  Confederacy  entered  on  the  war 
foreseeing  the  eventual  loss  of  his  slaves,  and  the 
military  head  of  the  Confederacy  actually  set  his  slaves 
free  before  the  war  was  half  over.  Yet  both,  they  say, 
were  fighting  for  slavery! 


CHAPTER    III 

FIRST   EXPERIENCES   OF  A   RAW  RECRUIT 

NOW  at  length  I  had  redeemed  my  promise  to  my 
mother,  in  leaving  Baltimore,  that  I  would  not 
enter  the  army,  at  any  rate  till  the  end  of  the  session 
of  the  University.  But  I  had  made  another  promise. 
On  June  20th  I  had  written  her:  "You  know  that  of 
course  I  will  join  no  company  without  papa's  consent. 
Though  I  did  do  it  once,  I  shall  not  do  it  again." 
Accordingly,  when  the  session  closed,  I  was  minded 
to  return  to  Baltimore  and  plead  for  permission  to  join 
the  Southern  Army.  I  even  contemplated  —  in  the 
event  of  being  unable  to  get  through  the  lines  —  to 
go  up  to  the  home  of  my  aunt,  Mrs.  Garrett,  some 
eighteen  miles  from  the  University,  and  settle  down 
"quietly,"  "trying  to  make  myself  useful  teaching 
the  children  French  and  arithmetic." 

But  in  cherishing  such  an  idea  I  reckoned  without 
the  Zeitgeist.  Day  after  day  the  spirit  of  the  epoch 
wrought  in  me  more  and  more  mightily  till  I  felt  that 
I  could  no  longer  resist  the  call  to  follow  the  example 
of  my  kindred,  my  friends,  and  my  fellow  students, 
and  enlist  in  the  Southern  Army. 

But  there  were  two  obstacles  in  the  way:  first,  my 
rash  promise  just  mentioned,  that  I  would  not  enlist 
without  my  father's  consent,  and  secondly  this:  my 
young  cousin,  Robert  Breckinridge  McKim,  was,  to 

23 


24  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

some  extent,  under  my  charge,  and  he  stoutly  insisted 
that  if  I  joined  the  army  he  would  do  the  same.  In 
vain  I  reasoned  with  him  that  he  was  under  age  —  not 
yet  eighteen  —  while  I  had  just  passed  my  nineteenth 
birthday  —  consequently  my  duty  was  to  my  country, 
his  was  to  his  mother. 

Unable  to  move  him  from  his  purpose,  I  said:  "Very 
well,  Robert,  I  will  go  with  you  to  Baltimore  and  deliver 
you  to  your  mother,  then  my  responsibility  will  end." 

But  on  our  way  to  Winchester,  intending  to  make 
our  way  into  Maryland,  I  heard  of  the  declaring  of 
martial  law  in  Baltimore  and  the  planting  of  artillery  in 
the  public  squares  of  our  city.  This  intelligence  swept 
away  all  further  hesitation  as  to  the  course  I  ought  to 
pursue.  I  saw  that,  if  I  did  go  back  I  should  to  a  cer 
tainty  be  arrested  as  having  been  at  Harper's  Ferry 
in  arms  against  the  government.  And  I  strongly 
hoped  that  my  father  could  no  longer  stand  with  Mr. 
Lincoln's  administration  when  he  found  that  he 
"meant  to  establish  a  despotism  and  call  it  by  the 
sacred  name  of  Union."  Many  other  Union  men  had 
been  swung  over  to  the  Southern  side  by  this,  - 
surely  my  father  would  be  also.  I  remembered,  too, 
how  he  had  taught  me  that,  next  to  God,  my  allegiance 
was  due  to  my  country  before  all  other  obligations. 
The  fact  is  that  by  this  time  the  cause  of  the  South 
had  become  identified  with  liberty  itself,  and,  being 
of  military  age,  I  felt  myself  bound  by  every  high  and 
holy  consideration  to  take  up  arms  to  deliver  Mary 
land  from  the  invaders  who  were  polluting  her  soil. 

At  Bristoe  Station,  en  route  to  Winchester,  I  had 
visited  the  troops  at  the  front.  There  I  saw  several 
first  cousins  who  were  in  the  army,  Wirt  Harrison, 


FIRST  EXPERIENCES  OF  A  RAW  RECRUIT          25 

and  Major  Carter  Harrison,  and  Major  Julien  Harri 
son.  I  heard  that  thirty-six  of  my  Harrison  cousins 
were  in  the  service.  I  saw  many  friends  and  fellow 
students  in  the  uniform.  And  I  confess  I  felt  humili 
ated  when  I  saw  these  men,  already  bronzed;  by 
camp  life,  while  my  face  was  as  white  as  a  piece  of 
writing  paper,  and  I  was  wearing  citizen's  clothes. 

This  experience  intensified  the  conviction  which 
had  already  taken  possession  of  my  mind,  and  I  felt 
that  now  all  hesitation  was  at  an  end. 

The  following  letter  tells  my  mind  at  this  period: 

WINCHESTER,  July  11,  1861. 
MY  DEAR  MOTHER: 

I  left  the  University  last  week  expecting  to  be  in  Balti 
more  before  now,  but  on  my  way  I  heard  of  the  declaring 
of  martial  law  and  of  the  unlimbering  of  artillery  in  the 
public  squares  of  our  city.  This  was  more  than  my  endur 
ance  could  stand  and  I  determined  to  come  up  here  and 
join  Willie  Murray's  company  and  aid  in  driving  those 
insolent  oppressors  out  of  our  city.  I  feel  this  to  be  my 
duty  and  I  earnestly  hope  it  will  not  be  displeasing  to  either 
you  or  papa.  I  cannot  but  hope  and  trust  that  papa  has 
before  this  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the  despotism  which 
Lincoln  is  building  up  for  himself,  and  that  he  is  as  desirous 
as  I  am  to  drive  every  Northerner  from  the  State  of  Mary 
land.  I  would  go  home  if  I  could  and  try  and  get  his  and 
your  consent  to  my  present  course,  but  they  are  so  strict 
now  that  I  fear  they  would  arrest  me  for  having  been  to 
Harper's  Ferry,  as  there  are  so  many  informers  nowadays. 
I  am  very  sorry  not  to  see  you  once  more  before  joining, 
but  it  is  impossible.  I  hope  I  may  be  among  those  who 
before  long  shall  march  into  Baltimore  and  deliver  her  from 
her  oppressors.  Poor  Baltimore!  my  heart  bleeds  for  her. 
Bob  McKim  has  come  up  here  and  joined  a  Virginia  artillery 


26  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

company.  Duncan  is  in  the  same  company  I  am  in.  He 
is  a  splendid  soldier  and  very  enthusiastic.  You  need  not 
be  alarmed  about  me,  my  dear  mother;  there  is  some  danger 
in  case  of  battle,  but  very  little;  the  Yankees  cannot  shoot. 
But,  dear  mamma,  if  anything  should  happen  to  me, 
remember  that  your  son  is  not  afraid  to  die  for  the  liberties 
of  his  country,  that  he  scorns  being  a  Tory  and  that  he  can 
look  up  to  Heaven  and  ask  a  blessing  upon  the  cause  he  is  en 
gaged  in,  and  commit  his  soul  to  God  on  the  battle  field,  and 
then  fear  not  the  sting  of  death  or  the  victory  of  the  grave. 

When  we  entered  the  train  which  was  to  take  us  to 
Strasburg  en  route  to  Winchester,  whence  we  meant 
to  make  our  way  into  Maryland,  I  called  Robert  to 
me  and  told  him  I  could  no  longer  delay  responding 
to  the  call  of  my  country,  and  was  resolved  to  join 
the  army  as  soon  as  we  reached  Winchester,  but  he 
must  continue  on  his  way  and  do  his  duty  by  return 
ing  to  his  mother.  I  shall  never  forget  the  dear  boy's 
joy  when  he  heard  of  my  resolve.  He  sprang  to  his 
feet,  clapped  his  hands,  and  said,  "I  shall  follow  your 
example, "  nor  could  I  dissuade  him  from  his  resolve. 

Arrived  at  Winchester,  we  made  our  way  next  morn 
ing,  eighteen  miles,  to  Darksville  on  the  Martinsburg 
pike,  where  the  army  of  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  was 
encamped.  I  enlisted  July  llth,  ten  days  before  the 
battle  of  Manassas.  We  found  the  troops  forming 
in  line  of  battle  to  meet  the  reported  advance  of  Gen 
eral  Patterson,  which  was  hourly  expected.  Natu 
rally  we  sought  the  regiment  of  Maryland  infantry, 
in  whose  ranks  I  soon  found  a  place  in  the  company 
of  my  dear  friend  Capt.  Wm.  H.  Murray.  But  Bob 
McKim,  unable  to  find  a  musket,  went  over  to  the 
Rockbridge  (Va.)  Artillery,  and  decided  to  enlist  in 


FIRST  EXPERIENCES  OF  A  RAW  RECRUIT          27 

its  ranks,  as  he  had  several  friends  in  the  company. 
The  brave  boy  met  his  death  at  the  battle  of  Winches 
ter,  May  25th,  1862,  only  ten  months  later,  gallantly 
serving  his  piece. 

General  Patterson  did  not  advance,  however,  so 
we  had  no  battle  that  day,  but  I  had  two  little  fore 
tastes  of  army  life  which  I  will  mention.  Our  captain 
having  given  instructions  to  the  men  as  they  stood  in 
line  of  battle  that,  when  any  member  of  the  company 
should  be  wounded,  but  one  man  should  leave  the  field 
to  care  or  him,  my  cousin  Duncan  McKim,  who  was 
immediately  in  front  of  me,  turned  to  me  and  said 
with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye  and  a  smile  on  his  lips,  "  Ran 
dolph,  when  you  fall,  I'll  carry  you  off  the  field."  I 
thanked  him,  with  rather  a  sickly  smile,  and  thought 
that  soldiering  was  getting  to  be  a  serious  business. 

After  waiting  several  hours  for  General  Patterson's 
call,  to  no  purpose,  about  four  P.M.  we  stacked  arms, 
broke  ranks,  and  charged  upon  the  camp-fires,  eager 
for  dinner,  which  had  been  interrupted  by  the  call  to 
arms.  Having  had  nothing  to  eat  since  early  morn 
ing,  and  having  ridden  eighteen  miles,  and  stood  in 
the  ranks  several  hours,  my  appetite  was  keen,  and 
I  gladly  accepted  Giraud  Wright's  invitation  to  "dine" 
with  him.  My  host  provided  the  " dinner"  by  dipping 
a  tin  cup  into  a  black  camp  kettle  and  procuring  one 
iron  spoon.  He  then  invited  me  to  a  seat  on  a  rock 
beside  him  and  we  took  turns  at  the  soup  with  the 
spoon,  each  also  having  a  piece  of  hard-tack  for  his 
separate  use.  Alas!  my  dinner,  so  eagerly  expected, 
was  soon  ended,  for  one  or  two  spoonfuls  of  the  greasy 
stuff  that  came  out  of  the  camp  kettle  completely 
turned  my  stomach,  and  I  told  my  friend  and  host  I 


28  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

was  not  hungry  and  would  not  take  any  more.  In 
wardly,  I  said,  "Well,  I  may  get  used  to  standing 
up  and  being  shot  at,  but  this  kind  of  food  will  kill  me 
in  a  week!" 

I  had  expected  a  baptism  of  fire,  and  looked  forward 
to  it  with  some  nervousness,  but  instead  I  had  had  a 
baptism  of  soup  which  threatened  an  untimely  end  to 
my  military  career! 

The  real  experience  of  a  soldier's  life  now  began  in 
earnest.  Drill  and  discipline  were  applied  to  the  new 
recruit,  by  dint  of  which  the  raw  material  of  young  man 
hood  was  to  be  converted  into  a  soldier.  The  man  at 
the  head  of  this  military  factory  was  Col.  George  H. 
Steuart,  and  he  thoroughly  understood  his  business. 
A  "West  Pointer,"  and  an  officer  in  the  old  army,  he 
was  imbued  with  a  very  strong  sense  of  the  value  of 
strict  discipline.  The  First  Maryland  Infantry  was 
under  his  command  and  he  very  soon  "licked  it  into 
shape,"  and  it  began  to  have  a  reputation  for  preci 
sion  of  drill  and  excellence  in  marching. 

These  qualities  were  to  be  subjected  to  a  practical 
test  very  soon,  for  not  many  days  after  the  experience 
narrated  in  the  last  chapter,  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston 
quietly  broke  camp  near  Winchester  and  took  up  his 
march  for  Manassas,  there  to  effect  a  junction  with  Gen 
eral  Beauregard  and  help  him  win  the  first  great  battle 
of  the  war.  We  marched  late  in  the  afternoon  of  July 
18th,  and  by  midnight  were  ten  or  twelve  miles  on  our 
way.  As  we  approached  the  village  of  Millwood  Clarke 
County,  I  observed  the  home  of  my  aunt,  Mrs.  Wm. 
Fitzhugh  Randolph,  brightly  illuminated,  and  when  I 
entered,  the  dear  old  lady  met  me  with  perplexity  on 
her  face  and  said,  "Randolph,  what  am  I  to  do?  The 


FIRST  EXPERIENCES  OF  A  RAW  RECRUIT          29 

soldiers  have  been  coming  in  ever  since  five  o'clock, 
and  they  have  eaten  up  everything  I  have  in  the  house, 
and  still  they  keep  coming."  "No  wonder,"  I  replied, 
"your  house  is  right  at  the  cross-roads,  and  you  have 
it  brightly  illuminated,  as  if  you  expected  them.  Put 
out  the  lights  and  shut  the  doors  and  you  will  soon  be 
at  peace." 

Well,  the  door  that  shut  out  the  rest  shut  me  in, 
and  I  had  a  few  hours  sleep  on  a  bed,  after  a  refreshing 
"bite"  in  the  dining-room.  By  four  o'clock  I  was  on 
the  road  again  with  one  or  two  of  my  company, 
approaching  the  river  which  the  army  was  obliged  to 
ford.  As  we  trudged  along,  with  knapsack  and  mus 
ket,  in  a  lonely  part  of  the  road,  we  were  overtaken 
by  a  mounted  officer,  muffled  up  in  a  cloak,  who  gruffly 
demanded  what  we  were  doing  ahead  of  our  regiment, 
to  which  I  hotly  replied,  "  What  business  is  that  of  yours?" 
One  of  my  companions  pulled  me  by  the  sleeve  and 
said,  "Man,  that  is  General  Elzey;  you'd  better  shut 
up,  or  you'll  be  arrested  and  put  in  the  guard-house, 
or  shot  for  insubordination."  I  suppose  I  must  have 
known  he  was  an  officer,  and  that  my  reply  was  a  gross 
breach  of  discipline.  But  obedience  and  submission 
to  military  authority  was  a  lesson  I  had  not  yet  learned 
in  my  seven  days  of  soldiering.  The  general,  however, 
paid  no  attention  to  what  I  said,  and  my  only  punish 
ment  was  the  amusement  of  my  fellow  soldiers  at  my 
greenness.  It  was  a  lonely  spot  and  it  was  still  rather 
dark.  Perhaps  that  accounts  for  the  general's  making 
as  if  he  did  not  hear  my  insubordinate  reply. 

After  wading  the  Shenandoah  we  took  our  way  up 
through  Ashby  gap  and  were  soon  descending  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Near  the  great  tree 


30  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

whose  branches  stretch  into  four  counties  we  went  into 
camp,  and  our  mess  was  presently  delighted  by  the 
approach  of  a  well-furnished  wagon  from  the  farm  of 
Mr.  Robert  Boiling,  in  charge  of  the  old  gentleman 
himself.  He  was  the  father  of  John  Boiling,  one  of 
the  privates  in  Murray's  company.  Both  John  and 
his  father  were  very  popular  men  that  day  in  Com 
pany  H,  and  long  lingered  the  delicious  memory  of 
those  Virginia  hams  and  well-fed  poultry  and  goodies 
too  numerous  to  mention. 

It  was  here  I  received  a  letter  from  my  mother  which 
showed  that  she  had  no  idea  I  had  enlisted  in  the  army, 
or  would  do  so.  I  immediately  sat  down  and  wrote 
her  the  following  letter,  wholly  devoted  to  explaining 
my  course  of  action  and  deprecating  her  displeasure 
and  my  father's.  It  must  have  been  indited  just 
before  taking  the  cars  which  were  to  convey  us  to 
the  battle  of  Manassas,  fought  the  next  day.  It 
contained  no  allusion  to  our  forced  march,  or  to  the 
approaching  battle. 

PIEDMONT  STATION, 

Saturday,  July  20,  1861. 

MY  MOST  PRECIOUS  MOTHER: 

Mr.  Hall  has  just  made  his  appearance  and  handed  me 
your  letter  and  dear  Margie's.  It  grieved  me  to  the  quick 
to  find  that  you  are  still  in  ignorance  of  my  real  position 
in  Virginia  now,  and  I  confess  I  almost  felt  self-reproached 
when  you  said  that  you  were  perfectly  satisfied  with  my 
promise  not  to  join  the  Southern  Army  "without  my  father's 
consent."  I  recollect  full  well  writing  the  letter,  and  that 
was  the  thing  which  has  kept  me  back  so  long  from  follow 
ing  what  I  have  felt  my  duty  to  my  country.  This  made 


FIRST  EXPERIENCES  OF  A  RAW  RECRUIT          31 

me  change  my  mind  about  joining  when  I  had  almost  made 
up  my  mind  to  it  some  time  ago,  and  this  made  me  resolve 
to  use  every  effort  to  get  home  and  try  and  get  consent  to 
do  so.  I  would  not  now  be  in  the  army,  and  would  be  at 
home,  I  expect,  if  the  condition  of  things  in  Baltimore  had 
not  rendered  it  pretty  certain  that  I  would  be  arrested 
because  I  went  in  arms  to  Harper's  Ferry. 

I  say  then  in  justification  of  my  course  that  I  could  not 
get  home  safely  to  get  advice,  and  I  felt  very  hopeful  that 
papa,  as  most  other  Union  men  in  Baltimore,  had  changed 
his  sentiments  when  he  found  that  the  government  means 
to  establish  a  despotism  and  call  it  by  the  sacred  name  of 
Union.  I  do  not  now  believe,  after  learning  that  I  am  dis 
appointed  to  a  great  extent  in  this  expected  change  so  far, 
that  papa  will  not  finally  cease  to  support  what  he  has 
believed  a  free  and  righteous  government,  when  he  finds 
beyond  contradiction  that  Lincoln  has  overthrown  the 
government  of  our  forefathers  and  abolished  every  principle 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

My  dear,  dear  mother,  I  could  hardly  restrain  tears  in 
the  midst  of  all  the  confusion  and  bustle  of  the  camp  this 
morning  when  I  read  your  letter  with  those  renewed  expres 
sions  of  your  tender  love  for  me.  Oh,  I  hope  you  will  not 
think  me  unworthy  of  such  a  love.  If  I  have  erred,  do  be 
lenient  to  me,  you  and  papa  both,  and  do  not  disown  your 
son  for  doing  what  he  felt  to  be  a  holy  duty  to  his  country. 
Papa,  if  you  place  yourself  in  my  position,  with  the  profound 
conviction  I  have  of  the  holiness  and  righteousness  of  this 
Cause,  ask  yourself  whether  you  would  not  have  unhesi 
tatingly  done  what  I  have  done.  You  have  yourself,  in 
my  hearing,  placed  the  duty  of  country  first  in  this  world's 
duties  and  second  only  to  the  duty  I  owe  my  God.  How 
then  am  I  reprehensible  for  obeying  what  my  very  heart  of 
hearts  told  me  was  my  country's  call,  when  I  had  some  hope 
that  your  will  would  not  be  at  variance  with  it,  and  I  was 
unable  to  find  out  whether  it  was  or  not? 


32  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

I  have  suffered  much  in  mind  and  still  do  suffer.  At  all 
events  I  am  not  actuated  by  selfish  or  cowardly  motives. 
How  easy  it  would  have  been  to  sit  down  at  quiet  Belvidere, 
preserving  an  inactivity  which  all  my  friends  would  have 
regarded  as  honorable,  than  at  the  possible  loss  of  your 
parental  love  and  care,  and  at  the  sacrifice  of  my  comforts 
and  the  risk  of  my  life,  to  do  what  I  have  done  —  enlist 
as  a  common  soldier  (i.e.,  a  volunteer  private)  in  the  cause 
of  liberty  and  right !  Camp  life  is  a  hard  life  —  I  know 
by  experience.  Forced  marches,  scanty  provisions  some 
times,  menial  offices  to  perform,  perfect  discipline  to  submit 
to,  are  not  attractive  features  to  anyone.  Then  military 
life  has  little  charm  for  me.  I  have  no  taste  for  it,  and  no 
ambition  for  military  glory.  But  I  am  ready  and  willing 
to  suffer  all  these  hardships,  and,  when  necessary,  to  lay 
my  life  upon  the  altar  of  my  country's  freedom. 

I  hope  I  do  not  seem  to  boast  or  to  glorify  myself  in  speak 
ing  thus,  but  if  I  know  my  own  heart  this  is  the  truth, 
and  God  give  me  grace  to  be  consistent  with  this  profession. 
Do  not,  my  precious  mother,  be  too  much  alarmed  and  too 
anxious  about  me.  I  trust  and  hope  that  God  will  protect 
me  from  "the  terror  by  night"  and  "the  destruction 
that  wasteth  at  noon-day."  I  feel  as  if  my  life  was  to 
be  spared.  I  hope  yet  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ;  but,  my  dear  mother,  we  are  in  God's  hands, 
and  He  doth  not  willingly  afflict  or  grieve  the  children  of 
men.  "  He  that  dwelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  most 
High  shall  abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty."  He 
does  all  things  well,  and  He  will  give  you  grace  to  bear 
this  trial  too.  Farewell,  dear  mother  and  father,  Telfair, 
Mary,  and  Margie.  I  am,  in  this  life  and  the  next, 

Your  fond  and  affectionate 
RANDOLPH. 


FIRST  EXPERIENCES  OF  A  RAW  RECRUIT          33 

The  following  letter  from  my  mother  reflects  the 
sentiment  prevalent  in  Baltimore  at  that  time: 

BALTIMORE,  July  1,  1860. 
MY  BELOVED  CHILD: 

The  plot  thickens  around  us  here,  the  usurpation  becoming 
more  and  more  dictatorial.  Thankful  I  feel  that  we  are 
not  personally  endangered,  but  I  do  not  feel  the  less  indig 
nant  at  the  outrageous  arrest  of  our  citizens,  or  the  less 
sympathy  for  my  neighbors  who  are  subjected  to  the  tyranny 
of  the  arbitrary  power  in  Washington.  We  are  such  a  loyal 
people,  that  it  takes  only  30,000  men  to  keep  us  quiet;  and 
our  police  and  marshal  of  police  arrested!  There  will  be 
no  stop  to  this  until  you  send  them  flying  from  Virginia, 
then  we  may  have  a  chance  to  show  our  loyalty. 


CHAPTER  IV 

OUR   FIRST  BATTLE 

AS  we  disembarked  from  the  cars  on  that  Sunday 
morning,  July  21st,  1861,  the  distant  booming 
of  cannon  fell  upon  our  ears,  and  we  realized  that  now 
we  were  indeed  on  the  fiery  edge  of  battle.  We  had 
orders  to  cast  off  our  knapsacks  that  we  might  march 
unimpeded  to  the  field.  Leaving  them  in  a  pile  by 
the  roadside  under  a  small  guard,  we  were  soon  march 
ing  at  the  double  quick  for  Manassas.  Our  pulses 
beat  more  quickly  than  our  feet,  as  we  passed  on,  the 
sounds  of  battle  waxing  nearer  and  nearer  every  mo 
ment.  It  was  a  severe  test  of  endurance,  for  the  field 
was  six  miles  away,  and  the  heat  of  that  July  day  was 
very  exhausting.  The  weather  had  been  very  dry, 
and  the  dust  rose  in  clouds  around  us,  as  we  double- 
quicked  on  —  so  thick  was  it  that  I  distinctly  remember 
I  could  not  see  my  file-leader. 

We  were  by  and  by  near  enough  to  hear  the  rattle 
of  the  musketry,  and  soon  we  began  to  meet  the  wounded 
coming  off  the  field  in  streams,  some  limping  along, 
some  on  stretchers  borne  by  their  comrades.  Stern 
work  was  evidently  right  ahead  of  us,  and  it  did  not 
steady  our  nerves  for  our  first  battle  to  be  told,  as  the 
wounded  told  us,  especially  those  whose  wounds  were 
slight,  that  it  was  going  very  badly  with  our  men  at 
the  front.  At  length  the  dreadful  six-mile  double- 

34 


OUR  FIRST  BATTLE  35 

quick  march  was  over,  and  the  firing  line  was  right 
in  front  of  us.  Some  few  —  very  few  —  had  dropped 
out  exhausted.  All  of  us  were  nearly  spent  with  the 
heat  and  the  dust  and  the  killing  pace;  and  a  brief 
halt  was  made  to  get  breath,  moisten  our  lips  from 
the  canteens,  and  prepare  for  the  charge.  I  remember 
how  poor  "Sell"  Brogden,  panting  and  exhausted, 
turned  to  me  and  asked  for  a  drink  of  water  from  my 
canteen.  I  had  scarcely  a  swallow  left,  but  he  was  so 
much  worse  off  than  I,  and  his  appeal  was  so  piteous, 
that  I  gave  him  the  last  drop. 

We  had  arrived  on  the  field  in  the  nick  of  time,  at  the 
very  crisis,  when  victory  or  defeat  was  trembling  in  the 
balance.  The  Federal  general,  McDowell,  had  turned 
General  Beauregard's  flank,  and  only  Gen.  Joe  John 
ston's  timely  arrival  on  that  flank  of  the  Confederate 
position  had  saved  him  from  disaster.  Jackson  at  the 
head  of  his  Virginia  troops  was  "  standing  like  a  Stone 
wall"  -those  were  the  words  of  General  Bee  as  he 
sought  to  rally  his  retreating  South  Carolinians.  But 
the  Confederate  line  was  wavering,  and  the  result  of 
the  day  hung  in  grave  doubt,  when  Elzey's  brigade 
arrived  on  the  field  and  deployed  for  attack.  Of 
this  brigade,  the  leading  regiment  (the  one  first  on  the 
field)  was  the  First  Maryland  under  Colonel  Steuart,  and 
it  was  the  blow  struck  by  this  fine  body  of  men,  600 
strong,  that  turned  the  balance  of  battle  in  favor  of 
the  Southern  Army.  Looking  back  now,  I  think  the 
moral  effect  of  the  great  cloud  of  dust  which  rose  as 
we  double-quicked  to  the  field,  and  which  was  easily 
seen  by  the  Federals,  was  worth  quite  as  much  as  our 
600  muskets  in  action.  For  it  gave  the  enemy  the 
impression  that  it  was  at  least  a  brigade  instead  of  a 


36  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

regiment  that  was  being  launched  against  them  at  the 
moment  of  our  charge.  This  was  intensified  by  the 
shout,  "Go  in,  Baltimore"  which  rose  above  the  din  of 
battle  as  we  swept  forward.  It  so  happened  that 
the  same  Massachusetts  regiment  which  was  so  roughly 
handled  by  the  people  in  the  streets  of  Baltimore  on 
the  19th  of  April  was  in  our  front  on  the  21st  of  July, 
and  prisoners  afterwards  told  us  that  when  we  charged 
the  Massachusetts  men  said,  "Here  come  those  d — d 
Baltimore  men!  It's  time  for  us  to  git  up  and  git!" 
Then,  after  the  day  was  won,  and  General  Elzey,  our 
brigade  commander,  was  saluted  as  the  Bliicher  of 
the  day,  we  men  of  the  First  Maryland  were  proud  to 
say  that  our  regiment  was  the  head  of  the  spear  that 
Elzey  drove  into  the  vitals  of  the  enemy  that  eventful 
day. 

I  remember  that  after  the  first  rush,  when  a  brief 
pause  came,  some  of  us  dashed  down  to  a  tiny  little 
brook  for  a  mouthful  of  water  —  only  to  find  the  water 
tinged  with  blood.  Nevertheless  not  a  few  stooped 
and  lapped  it  up  where  it  was  clearest. 

The  first  man  I  saw  fall  in  the  battle  was  Gen. 
Kirby  Smith,  who  was  riding  by  the  side  of  our  col 
umn  before  we  deployed  for  the  charge.  He  fell  in 
the  most  spectacular  way  —  the  reins  falling  from  his 
grasp,  he  reeled  in  the  saddle,  threw  out  his  arms  and 
fell  to  the  ground,  seriously  but  not  fatally  wounded. 

The  New  York  Zouaves,  in  their  red  breeches,  were 
deployed  as  skirmishers  in  our  front,  and  did  us 
some  damage  before  we  formed  our  line.  One  of  the 
amusing  incidents  that  occurred  (and  the  Confederate 
soldier  was  always  eager  to  see  some  fun  in  the  serious 
work  of  war)  was  when  Geo.  Lemmon  in  his  excite- 


OUR  FIRST  BATTLE  37 

ment  fired  his  musket  too  close  to  Nick  Watkins'  head 
and  shot  a  hole  in  his  cap  —  fortunately  not  in  his 
head  —  and  Nick  turned  and  said  in  the  coolest  way, 
"  George  Lemmon,  I  wish  you'd  look  where  you're 
shooting  —  I'm  not  a  Yankee." 

How  well  I  remember  our  eager  expectancy  that 
night.  We  had  seen  the  rout,  and  had  followed  the 
fleeing  Federals  some  distance  along  the  road  back 
towards  Washington.  It  was  full  of  the  evidences 
of  the  panic  into  which  the  Union  Army  had  been 
thrown.  I  need  not  describe  a  scene  so  often  described 
before.  But  with  all  the  evidences  of  the  demoraliza 
tion -of  our  enemy,  we  were  confident  they  could  be 
pursued  and  Washington  taken,  if  the  Confederate 
Army  pressed  on.  This  we  confidently  expected,  and 
were  bitterly  disappointed  when  the  next  day,  and  the 
next,  came  and  went  without  any  serious  advance. 

As  I  lay  down  to  sleep  on  the  battle  field  that  night, 
I  had  much  to  think  of.  The  weariness  of  the  day  and 
the  peril  of  the  battle  were  lost  sight  of  in  the  awful 
scenes  of  death  and  suffering  to  which  we  had  been 
introduced  that  day  for  the  first  time.  I  had  seen  the 
reality  of  the  battle  field,  its  carnage,  its  desolation, 
its  awful  pictures  of  the  wounded,  the  dying,  and  the 
dead. 

Somehow  I  was  especially  moved  by  the  sight  of 
the  battery  horses  on  the  Henry  Hill,  so  frightfully 
torn  by  shot  and  shell.  The  sufferings  of  the  poor 
brutes,  not  in  their  own  battle  or  by  their  own  fault, 
but  for  man's  sake,  appealed  to  me  in  a  peculiar  way. 

Mingled  with  my  devout  thankfulness  for  my  own 
safety  was  my  sorrow  as  news  came  in  of  friend  after 
friend,  and  some  relatives  too,  who  had  fallen. 


38  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

It  was  reported  all  over  Virginia  that  I  had  been 
among  the  killed.  One  of  my  cousins,  Col.  Randolph 
Harrison,  when  he  saw  me,  exclaimed,  "  Why,  I  thought 
you  were  dead/'  These  unfounded  reports  were  often 
the  occasion  of  much  needless  distress  to  the  relatives 
of  the  men  in  the  field. 

The  following  letter  referred  to  the  battle: 

FAIRFAX,  Co.  H,  July  30,  1861. 
MY  DEAR  MOTHER: 

I  have  written  twice  since  the  battle  to  tell  you  I  was 
safe;  still  I  will  embrace  this  opportunity,  as  I  know  you 
will  be  glad  to  hear  from  me  whenever  you  can.  We  have 
been  here  some  time,  ever  since  the  fight  in  fact.  How  grate 
ful  I  feel  that  none  of  our  close  friends  in  the  Maryland 
regiment  were  killed,  or  even  wounded  in  the  fight.  Yet 
we  have  to  mourn  the  loss  of  two  very  near  to  us  in  ties 
of  blood,  and  others  dear  by  friendship.  Cousin  Peyton 
Harrison  —  dear  sweet  fellow  —  I  saw  him  only  a  week 
before  his  death,  —  and  Cousin  Carter  Harrison  who  fell 
in  the  battle  of  Thursday  while  bravely  bringing  up  his 
men  to  battle. 

My  dear  mother,  I  am  so  grateful  to  God  for  sparing 
me  in  safety  through  the  dangers  of  the  day  for  your  sake 
and  the  sake  of  the  dear  girls  and  Telly  and  papa  as  well. 
I  thought  of  you  all  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  prayed  God 
to  spare  me,  or,  if  not,  to  comfort  you,  for  I  know  that  it 
would  be  a  severe  blow  to  you  to  lose  me  in  this  way  so  soon. 
Still,  confident  in  the  justice  of  our  cause,  and  looking  to 
the  great  God  of  truth  and  justice  to  be  our  salvation,  I 
was  ready  to  yield  up  myself,  if  necessary,  on  the  altar  of 
my  country.  Our  regiment  behaved  beautifully  on  the 
field;  they  would  pick  blackberries,  though,  notwithstanding 
the  indignation  of  the  officers.  We  were  in  that  brigade 
which  came  up  so  opportunely  just  as  the  fortune  of  the 


OUR  FIRST  BATTLE  39 

day  seemed  to  be  going  against  us.  We  fired  several  times 
on  the  Yankees  and  drove  them  before  us,  though  our 
numbers  were  far  inferior  to  theirs.  It  was  truly  the 
hand  of  Providence  which  gave  us  the  victory  on  that  day, 
and  our  Congress  very  appropriately  gave  thanks  to  Him 
and  appointed  last  Sunday  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving.  The 
panic  which  spread  among  the  Northern  Army  was  almost 
unaccountable;  they  were  beaten  back  with  half  their  num 
bers,  but  there  was  no  need  of  such  a  flight  as  they  made  to 
Alexandria,  leaving  behind  them  all  their  baggage  trains, 
ammunition,  etc.  We  only  had  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand 
men  engaged,  because  we  had  so  many  points  to  defend,  and 
did  not  know  where  they  were  going  to  attack  us.  In  the 
same  way,  I  suppose,  they  had  only  about  35,000.  The 
people  in  this  neighborhood  said  that  when  they  saw  the 
army  pass  here  they  thought  we  would  never  return  again, 
but  that  the  Southern  army  would  be  certainly  crushed.  How 
different  the  result !  When  they  passed  here  on  the  way  up, 
they  destroyed  all  the  private  property,  broke  into  the  houses 
and  pillaged  everything;  but  when  they  returned  they 
hadn't  time  for  anything  of  that  sort.  They  were  perfectly 
demoralized;  thousands  had  no  arms  at  all.  I  have  a 
splendid  overcoat  gotten  from  a  number  they  left  behind. 
Cousin  Wirt  Harrison  was  wounded  in  the  foot.  Holmes 
and  Tucker  Conrad  were  killed  side  by  side. 


CHAPTER  V 

CAMP    LIFE 

AFTER  the  battle  of  Manassas,  we  settled  down  to 
camp  life,  varied  by  occasional  picket  duty  at 
one  of  the  advanced  outposts,  such  as  Mason's  and 
Munsen's  Hill,  whence  the  Maryland  hills  could  be 
seen  and  which  for  that  reason  was  a  favorite  post 
with  our  boys.  Our  colonel,  George  H.  Steuart,  had 
no  superior  as  a  camp  officer  in  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia.  He  kept  his  camp  in  good  order  by  careful 
policing.  He  paid  particular  attention  to  the  quarter 
master  and  commissary  departments,  and  looked  well 
after  the  interests  of  his  men,  holding  every  officer, 
including  the  surgeon,  to  the  strict  performance  of  his 
duty.  But  he  drilled  us  hard  —  generally  six  hours 
a  day;  company  drill  two  hours  before  breakfast, 
regimental  drill  two  hours  after  breakfast;  and,  when 
he  rose  to  be  brigadier  brigade  drill  two  hours  in  the 
afternoon.  Moreover,  he  was  a  strict  disciplinarian, 
and  it  was  not  easy  for  any  breach  of  his  orders  to 
escape  his  lynx-eyed  observation.  He  had  some  tough 
elements  to  deal  with  in  some  of  his  companies,  and 
when  these  became  unruly,  the  colonel  was  severe 
in  his  punishments.  It  was  not  uncommon  in  his 
camp  to  see  two  or  three  men  tied  up  by  the  thumbs 
to  a  cross-pole  —  and  in  those  July  and  August  days 
this  punishment  was  peculiarly  painful.  One  some- 

40 


CAMP  LIFE  41 

times  heard  men  muttering  curses  and  threatening  to 
"  shoot  old  Steuart"  in  the  first  battle  they  got  into. 
But  after  Manassas,  when  the  good  result  of  his  strict 
drill  and  discipline  was  seen,  he  became  popular  with 
the  men.  The  regiment  soon  had  the  reputation  of 
being  the  best  drilled  and  the  best  marching  regiment 
in  Gen.  Joe  Johnston's  army;  and  the  men,  proud  of 
this,  well  knew  that  they  owed  it  to  Colonel  Steuart. 

We  had  a  large  drum  corps,  and  its  quick-step  march 
was  unique  in  that  army  of  30,000  men  around  Manas 
sas  that  summer.  It  was  a  fine  sight  to  see  the  First 
Maryland  marching  with  that  quick  Zouave  step  by 
which  they  were  distinguished.  It  was  a  sturdy  body 
of  men,  not  so  tall  as  the  Virginia  regiments  usually 
were,  but  well  set  up,  active  and  alert,  and  capable 
of  much  endurance.  Best  of  all,  they  stood  to  their 
work  and  showed  the  same  fine  soldierly  qualities 
that  characterized  the  Maryland  line  in  the  first  Revo 
lutionary  War. 

Colonel  Steuart  was  in  the  habit  of  testing  his  men 
when  on  guard  in  some  lonely  spot  by  suddenly  rushing 
upon  them  on  foot  or  on  horseback,  taking  them  by 
surprise  if  possible.  One  night  a  sentinel  had  been 
posted  near  the  colonel's  tent,  and  part  of  his  duty 
was  to  protect  a  lot  of  tent-flies  piled  up  close  by.  In 
the  small  hours  of  the  night,  Colonel  Steuart  crept  out 
of  the  rear  of  his  tent,  and  stealthily  approaching, 
while  the  sentinel  was  leaning  on  his  musket,  gazing 
at  the  stars  and  probably  thinking  of  his  sweetheart 
or  his  mother,  took  up  one  of  the  tent-flies,  shouldered 
it,  and  was  walking  off  with  it  when  the  sentinel,  turn 
ing,  rushed  upon  him,  and  pretending  not  to  recognize 
him,  seized  him  by  the  shoulders  and  gave  him  such 


42  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

a  shaking  that  the  colonel  could  hardly  get  breath  to 
cry,  "I'm  your  colonel  —  I'm  your  colonel!"  Then 
when  the  sentry  let  go  his  hold  and  apologized,  the 
colonel  slapped  him  on  the  back  and  said,  "Good  sol 
dier!  Good  soldier!  I'll  remember  this." 

The  regiment  was  divided  into  messes  containing 
each  about  fifteen  men,  and  two  of  these  were  detailed 
for  the  duty  of  cooking  and  chopping  wood  and  bring 
ing  water.  In  many  of  the  Southern  regiments  there 
were  negro  cooks,  but  we,  of  Maryland,  had  to  do  our 
own  cooking,  and  first  we  had  to  learn  how  —  a  slow 
and  painful  process.  Bacon  and  flour  and  salt  con 
stituted  our  bill  of  fare,  with  some  kind  of  substitute 
for  coffee,  which  was  a  mighty  poor  make-believe. 
At  first  we  could  only  make  "slap-jacks,"  -  composed 
of  flour  and  water  mixed,  and  floated  in  bacon-grease. 
When  sufficiently  fried  on  one  side,  it  was  then  "up" 
to  the  cook  to  toss  the  frying-pan  up  and  cause  the 
half-cooked  cake  to  turn  a  somersault  in  the  air  and 
come  down  "slap-jack"  on  the  pan  again  —  if  it  did 
not  happen  to  come  down  in  the  fire  instead.  But  by 
degrees  we  learned  to  make  biscuits  baked  in  the  small 
oven,  and  to  boil  our  beef  (when  we  had  any),  and  make 
soup  at  the  same  time.  Horse  beef  was  issued  some 
times,  and  we  found  it  a  difficult  dental  proposition. 
On  a  famous  occasion  when  we  had  invited  Captain 
Murray  to  dine  with  us,  I  suggested  to  my  co-cook, 
Sergeant  Lyon,  that  we  should  create  an  apple  pie. 
He  was  doubtful  if  the  thing  could  be  done.  The  apples 
we  had  in  hand  as  the  result  of  a  forage,  but  how  on 
earth  were  we  to  make  the  pastry?  I  told  him  I  remem 
bered  (when  a  smaller  boy)  seeing  our  cook  Josephine 
make  pastry,  rolling  out  the  dough  thin  and  sticking 


CAMP  LIFE  43 

little  dabs  of  butter  all  over  it  —  then  folding  it  and 
rolling  it  again.  So  we  made  some  dough  as  if  for 
biscuit,  then  rolled  it  with  a  bottle  on  the  top  of  a 
barrel,  and  planted  it  thick  with  small  pats,  of  butter 
-  doubled  it  over  and  rolled  it  —  and  repeated  the 
process  until  the  butter  was  exhausted.  The  pie  that 
resulted  from  all  this  culinary  strategy  we  considered 
fit  to  set  before  a  general,  to  say  nothing  of  a  mere 
captain.  In  this  connection  I  recall  once  on  a  march 
making  a  loaf  of  bread  about  three  feet  long  and  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  thick  by  wrapping  the  dough  round  my 
ramrod  and  setting  it  up  before  the  fire  to  bake.  With 
the  modern  breech-loader  this  could  not  have  been  done. 
About  once  a  week  it  was  my  duty  to  cook  for  the 
mess  of  fifteen  men,  or  else  to  chop  the  necessary  wood 
and  fetch  the  water.  One  of  our  number,  Harry  Oliver, 
a  gentleman  of  wealth  and  position  before  he  became 
a  soldier,  was  an  enthusiast,  almost  a  monomaniac, 
about  washing,  spending  much  of  his  leisure  time 
washing  himself  or  his  clothes,  and  I  recall  more  than 
one  occasion  when  it  was  his  turn  to  cook  break 
fast,  that  when  we  returned  from  our  first  two  hours 
drill,  eager  for  breakfast,  Harry  was  nowhere  to  be 
seen,  nor  was  there  any  breakfast  prepared  —  he  was 
"off  at  the  branch  washing. "  So  our  mess  No.  5,  not 
without  maledictions  on  Harry,  were  compelled  to  go 
out  breakfastless  to  the  second  drill  of  two  hours  more. 
Well,  I  daresay  it  was  a  good  preparation  for  the  bad 
time  coming  when  we  had  to  march  and  fight  so  often 
on  an  empty  stomach. 

On  picket  duty  sometimes  we  lived  for  three  days 
on  corn  plucked  in  the  fields  and  roasted  in  the  shuck, 
a  process  highly  conducive  to  diarrhoea. 


44  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

On  one  of  these  occasions,  after  a  long  march,  our 
captain  at  nightfall  called  for  volunteers  to  perform 
a  special  duty,  without  specifying  what  the  duty  was. 
Some  of  us,  fancying,  as  we  were  on  an  advanced  picket 
and  very  near  the  enemy,  that  it  was  some  exciting 
and  adventurous  task,  stepped  out  of  the  ranks  and 
offered  ourselves  as  volunteers.  What  was  our  dis 
gust  when  we  discovered  it  was  special  guard  duty! 
When  my  turn  came  it  was  very  dark  and  raining 
heavily,  and  I  was  in  a  very  bad  humor  with  myself 
and  everybody  else  for  having  thus  put  my  head  into 
the  noose.  Arrived  at  my  post,  the  sentinel  whom  I 
relieved  gave  me  the  instructions  he  had  received  and 
whispered  the  countersign,  which  I  could  not  under 
stand,  though  I  asked  him  twice  to  repeat  it.  Quite 
out  of  patience  I  turned  to  the  corporal  of  the  guard 
and  said,  "  Corporal,  I  wish  you'd  tell  me  the  counter 
sign,  I  can't  understand  this  man."  He  approached 
and  whispered  something  like  "Wanis."  "  Spell  it," 
I  said.  In  reply  he  whispered  with  staccato  emphasis 
on  each  letter,  "We-e-noos."  Then  at  last  I  under 
stood  that  the  countersign  was  "Venus "I  It  was  too 
funny!  Here  was  an  illiterate  Irish  sentinel  pronoun 
cing  "  Venus"  in  the  most  approved,  modern  European 
style!  It  almost  put  me  in  a  good  humor. 

I  would  here  point  out  that  our  Maryland  men  faced 
from  the  start  some  of  the  hardships  and  limitations 
that  came  to  many  Southern  regiments  at  a  later  stage 
of  the  war.  In  some  commands  the  private  soldiers 
had  their  trunks  with  them.  It  is  related  of  a  young 
Richmond  gentleman,  private  in  the  Howitzers,  that 
he  had  as  part  of  his  outfit  a  dozen  face  towels  besides 
bath  towels,  and  that  when  orders  were  issued  that  all 


CAMP  LIFE  45 

trunks  should  be  sent  back  to  Richmond,  the  elegant 
young  dandy  took  offence  and  sent  in  to  the  captain 
his  "  resignation  "! 

Needless  to  say,  our  Maryland  boys  had  neither 
trunks,  nor  cooks,  nor  woodchoppers. 

The  following  letter  refers  to  this  period: 

FAIRFAX,  Co.  H,  August  3,  1861. 
To  MY  MOTHER: 

Though  I  have  written  I  think  three  times  since  the  battle 
to  assure  you  of  my  safety,  yet  the  news  which  Mr.  - 
brings,  that  I  am  reported  among  the  killed  in  Baltimore, 
makes  me  anxious  to  embrace  this  new  and  certain  oppor 
tunity  of  setting  your  mind  at  rest  on  this  score,  especially 
as  the  report  is  current  at  the  University  and  in  Richmond, 
and  you  may  suppose  it  occurred  in  some  way  since  the 
fight,  on  picket  duty  for  instance.  You  have  no  idea  how 
I  long  to  see  you  and  dear  old  Belvidere  again.  I  lay  in 
my  tent  the  other  morning  while  the  rain  poured  in  torrents 
outside,  and  pictured  to  myself  the  dear  old  place  with  the 
damasks  on  the  porch,  so  fragrant,  and  then  I  entered  the 
door  in  imagination  and  saw  you  all  seated  at  a  comfortable 
breakfast-table  while  I  was  almost  drenched  and  obliged 
to  fly  to  my  crowded  tent  before  completing  my  breakfast 
by  half. 

You  should  see  me  engaged  in  cooking,  making  fires, 
washing,  etc.  It  is  truly  hard  work  and  young  men  like 
Duncan,  Wilson  Carr  and  myself  find  that  it  is  a  difficult 
thing  to  make  bread  and  coffee  good  enough  to  support  life. 
Our  mess  consists  of  ten,  some  of  whom  I  will  mention; 
Duncan,  Wilson  Carr,  Willie  Colston,  Giraud  Wright,  Charlie 
Grogan,  McHenry  Howard.  We  have  no  yeast,  and  so 
our  bread  must  needs  be  heavy  and  indigestible  as  we  have 
no  means  of  rolling  it  out  into  biscuits.  We  make  rice 
cakes  though,  and  frequently  get  corn  meal  and  make  first- 


46  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

rate  corn  bread.  We  are  able  occasionally  to  get  our  bread 
cooked  by  the  country  people  and  we  buy  sometimes  eggs, 
with  a  stray  chicken  or  two.  You  have  no  idea  how  one 
gets  accustomed  to  any  sort  of  fare.  I  can  now  eat  salt 
junk  of  the  very  fattest  with  great  gusto,  and  drink  coffee 
without  milk,  made  in  the  company  pot,  and  feel  refreshed. 
The  first  hard  washing  of  my  clothes  which  I  did,  burned 
off  the  skin  from  my  arms  dreadfully.  Sometimes  we  have 
been  out  all  day  and  part  of  the  night  in  a  drenching  rain. 
In  that  forced  march  from  Winchester  to  Manassas  we 
knew  no  distinction  between  night  and  day,  but  marched 
during  both  without  rest  almost,  and  almost  entirely  without 
food.  Our  regiment  marches  very  fast  and  finds  it  very 
tiresome  marching  behind  some  Virginia  and  Tennessee 
regiments.  We  passed  through  Millwood,  and  Aunt  Jane 
had  her  house  lit  up  and  was  giving  supper  to  all  the  soldiers 
who  came  in  on  their  way.  From  five  to  six  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  till  three  in  the  morning  she  was  cooking  for 
them,  till  she  was  eaten  out  of  house  and  home  nearly. 
We  forded  the  Shenandoah  up  to  our  breasts  and  then 
marched  on  to  Piedmont  where  we  were  delayed  some 
time.  We  reached  the  Manassas  Junction  at  10.30  o'clock 
Sunday  morning.  As  I  told  you,  during  the  whole  march 
we  had  not  a  single  regular  meal.  Immediately  after  the 
victory  we  were  marched  back  to  Manassas  (some  six  miles) 
and  stayed  there  all  Monday  in  a  drenching  rain,  without 
tents,  blankets  or  overcoats.  Our  company  was  out  on 
picket  duty  night  before  last  and  we  could  hear  the  drums 
beating  in  the  enemy's  camp  nearly  all  night  long.  We 
were  within  seven  miles  of  Alexandria. 

You  would  like  to  know  how  I  spend  a  day  here.  The 
bugle  sounds  at  half  past  four  and  then  we  go  out  to  drill 
till  six.  Then  we  get  breakfast,  wash  and  get  ready  for 
drill  again  at  nine  o'clock.  Then  we  drill  an  hour  and  a  half 
or  two  hours.  Then  sleep,  or  write  a  letter,  or  clean  up 
camp,  or  wash  clothes,  or  put  the  tents  in  order.  Then  get 


CAMP  LIFE  47 

dinner  ready  —  drill  again  in  the  evening  (the  whole  regi 
ment  together,  battalion  drill)  at  five  o'clock.  Dress 
parade  at  6.30  P.M.  Then  supper.  Soon  after,  at  nine 
o'clock,  the  tattoo  sounds  and  roll  is  called;  then  at  9.30 
come  three  taps  on  the  drum  and  all  lights  must  instantly 
be  extinguished.  I  have  been  very  sick  all  day  for  the  first 
time,  but  am  nearly  well  now.  Good-by,  my  dear  mother, 
—  God  bless  and  keep  you  all.  I  am  sad  often  thinking 
of  my  dear  home  and  longing  to  hear  from  you.  Wish 
I  could  see  you  again  just  for  one  little  day  or  week. 
Never  cease  to  pray  for  your  fond  son. 

Sometime  in  October  I  was  detailed  for  duty  dur 
ing  two  days  at  General  Johnston's  headquarters  at 
Centre ville  under  Major  John  Haskell,  a  gallant  mem 
ber  of  a  gallant  South  Carolina  family  of  brothers, 
who  did  royal  service  in  the  Confederate  Army.  Wm. 
Haskell  was  one  of  my  most  valued  friends  at  the  Uni 
versity.  I  looked  up  to  him  with  reverence.  He 
fell  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  —  a  costly  sacrifice 
to  the  Southern  cause.  Major  John  still  lives,  wearing 
an  empty  sleeve,  witness  of  one  of  his  many  brave 
deeds. 

During  those  ten  days  I  had  frequent  opportunity 
of  seeing  that  superb  soldier  and  strategist,  Gen.  Joseph 
E.  Johnston,  whose  removal  in  1864  from  the  command 
of  the  southwestern  army  sealed,  or  at  any  rate  has 
tened,  the  doom  of  the  Confederacy. 

The  following  letter  refers  to  this  period: 

CENTKEVILLE,  October  20,  1861. 

I  sat  up  late  reading,  and  after  putting  out  the  candle, 
stretched  myself  out  on  my  pallet  of  straw,  and  commenced 
thinking.  It  was  about  midnight  and  not  a  sound  could 
be  heard  but  the  dull  pattering  of  the  rain  on  the  tent. 


48  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Everything  that  can  distract  the  mind  was  hushed,  and 
I  seemed  to  hear  only  the  voice  of  the  Almighty  in  each 
drop  of  rain.  I  felt  then  that  I  was  a  spirit,  an  immortal 
spirit  —  consciousness  of  my  bodily,  mortal  nature  almost 
left  me.  The  God  that  sends  each  drop  of  that  rain  on  its 
separate  mission,  —  can  He  not  take  care  of  all  dear  to 
me?  Can  He  not  restore  us  peace,  and  return  me  to  my 
home?  .  .  .  And  will  not  all  he  does  be  right  and  good  and 
for  the  best?" 


CHAPTER  VI 

WINTER  QUARTERS,    1861-62 

THE  autumn  of  1861  was  spent  in  camp  at  Centre- 
ville.  Our  tents  were  pitched  on  the  summit 
of  a  bare  hill,  from  which  the  encampment  of  the  entire 
army  of  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  —  about  30,000 
men  —  was  visible.  At  night,  when  the  camp-fires 
glowed  all  round  us  for  miles,  it  was  a  very  beautiful 
sight.  My  cousin,  W.  Duncan  McKim,  and  I  used  to 
lie  there  and  fancy  we  were  looking  down  on  the  city 
of  Baltimore  from  Belvidere  hill.  He  would  say, 
"  Randolph,  there  are  the  lights  of  Barnum's  Hotel, 
and  there  is  the  Shot  Tower,  and  there  is  the  jail,  and 
far  away  there  are  the  lights  on  Federal  Hill."  Our 
thoughts  turned,  in  every  quiet  hour,  to  home  and  kin 
dred  and  friends.  Duncan  had  a  great  aversion  to 
serving  as  cook  for  our  mess  of  fifteen  men,  and  when 
his  turn  came  round  for  this  duty,  he  would  do  his 
best  to  exchange  with  some  comrade  for  guard  duty. 

As  winter  approached,  we  suffered  with  the  cold 
on  that  bleak  hill-top,  and  some  of  the  men  excavated 
the  entire  space  under  their  tents  to  the  depth  of 
three  or  four  feet,  and  so  slept  snug  and  warm,  while 
the  less  energetic  of  the  company  were  exposed  to  the 
keen,  cold  winds.  This,  however,  had  occasionally 
its  disadvantages.  I  remember,  for  instance,  one  night 
as  I  was  going  out  to  take  my  guard  duty,  looking 

49 


50  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

enviously  into  one  of  these  tents  and  seeing  the  men 
grouped  cosily  together  in  their  "dug-out,"  some  read 
ing,  some  playing  cards,  all  quite  secure  from  the  sweep 
of  the  wintry  winds;  and  I  wished  I  could  return  after 
my  four  hours  "on  guard"  to  such  a  snug  refuge.  But 
before  my  watch  was  over  there  arose  a  tempest  of  wind 
and  rain,  and  when  I  passed  that  tent  again,  it  had 
collapsed,  and  there  were  six  inches  of  water  in  the  cosey 
place,"  and  blankets  and  knapsacks,  etc.,  were  all 
afloat ! 

John  Boiling,  his  cousin  Robert,  and  I  had  a  small 
"A"  tent  together  in  that  camp.  It  was  just  wide 
enough  to  hold  the  three  of  us  when  we  lay  "spoon 
fashion,"  and  by  "pooling"  our  assets  of  blankets,  we 
managed  to  sleep  warm  —  at  least  the  fortunate  man  in 
the  middle  was  quite  comfortable.  But  after  lying  an 
hour  or  so  on  the  rough  stony  ground,  our  bones  would 
begin  to  ache,  and  the  man  who  waked  up  first,  aching, 
would  punch  the  others  so  that  all  might  turn  over 
together  and  preserve  the  "spoon"  alignment,  for  only 
in  that  formation  would  the  blankets  cover  all  three. 
So,  often  during  the  night,  the  order  would  be  given  to 
our  little  squad  by  whichever  man  wanted  to  turn  over, 
"Company  A,  right  face,"  or  "Company  A,  left  face." 

Later,  I  think  early  in  December,  we  moved  from 
Centreville  to  the  vicinity  of  Fairfax  Station,  and  there 
built  ourselves  huts  for  winter  quarters.  The  spot 
selected  was  a  forest  of  pines,  in  the  midst  of  which 
we  hewed  out  an  open  space  large  enough  to  accommo 
date  huts  for  the  entire  regiment.  This  was  unaccus 
tomed  work  for  many  of  us.  Indeed,  very  few  men  in 
Murray's  company  could  wield  an  axe,  but,  under  the 
pressure  of  stern  necessity,  we  learned  the  art  just  as 


WINTER  QUARTERS,   1861-62  51 

we  had  learned  the  art  of  cooking.  We  hacked  down 
the  trees  "  somehow/'  and  at  last  —  long  after  our 
comrades  in  most  of  the  other  companies  —  we  got 
our  huts  built,  and  set  to  work  to  make  ourselves 
comfortable. 

The  composition  of  our  mess  was  notable.  It  was 
certainly  a  rare  group  of  men  to  be  serving  as  private 
soldiers,  on  the  munificent  pay  of  eleven  dollars  per 
month,  Confederate  money.  There  was  Harry  Oliver, 
a  country  gentleman  of  large  means,  and  Wilson  Carr, 
a  lawyer  who  left  a  good  practice  in  Baltimore  to  shoul 
der  a  musket  for  the  Confederacy,  and  Hedmond,  a 
highly  educated  Irish  gentleman,  and  Wm.  Duncan 
McKim,  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  the  president-  of  the 
" Hasty  Pudding  Club"  there  and  an  intimate  of 
Rufus  Choate.  Then  there  was  McHenry  Howard,  a 
second-honor  man  of  Princeton,  and  John  Boiling,  who 
had  taken  M.A.  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  an  honor 
so  difficult  of  achievement;  and,  most  accomplished 
of  all,  Geo.  Williamson,  master  of  several  modern  lan 
guages,  educated  in  a  European  university,  widely 
read  and  widely  travelled.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
personal  charm  and  of  the  most  exalted  ideals.  So 
nice  was  his  sense  of  duty  and  honor  that  we  dubbed 
him  "Mr.  Conscientious  Scruples."  We  had  also  a 
candidate  for  Holy  Orders  in  the  Episcopal  Church, 
and  I,  too,  had  devoted  myself  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  I  may  say  that,  in 
such  a  circle  of  accomplished  men,  the  conversation 
in  our  log  hut,  as  we  lay  in  our  bunks  waiting  for  taps 
to  sound,  was  of  a  very  high  order.  In  a  fragment 
of  a  diary  kept  at  this  time  (Jan.  24th,  1862),  I  find 
the  following  entry: 


52  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

"I  have  felt  my  ignorance  lately  in  listening  to  men  in 
the  mess  of  greater  age  and  far  greater  reading  and  infor 
mation  than  myself.  In  listening  to  George  Williamson, 
describing  the  cities,  and  the  manners  of  foreign  countries, 
and  the  monuments  of  art  and  antiquity  in  Europe,  I 
have  felt  a  longing  to  travel,  and  to  learn  more  of  men  and 
things;  and  I  have  sighed  in  contemplating  my  ignorance 
of  the  world  of  Nature,  of  literature  and  of  art,  and  yearned 
to  drink  deep  of  knowledge." 

I  sent  to  the  University  of  Virginia  for  some  of  my 
books,  among  them  some  nice  editions  of  the  classics 
that  belonged  long  ago  to  my  father,  —  only  to  lose 
them  all  when  we  suddenly  broke  camp  in  the  spring 
and  left  all  such  impedimenta  behind. 

The  following  letter  gives  a  picture  of  our  life  in 
winter  quarters  at  Fairfax  Station: 

WINTER  QUARTERS,  January  27,  1862. 
To  MY  MOTHER: 

Wouldn't  you  like  to  peep  in  on  us  some  evening  as  we 
sit  around  our  stove  amusing  ourselves  until  it  is  time  to 
retire?  We  are  a  happy  but  a  boisterous  family,  as  the 
neighbors  next  door  will  tell  you.  Our  amusements  are 
various  —  reading,  singing,  quarreling,  and  writing.  We 
employ  the  twilight  in  conversation,  the  subject  of  which 
is  the  "latest  grape-vine"  (i.e.,  rumor),  or  a  joke  on  the 
Colonel,  or  when  we  are  alone,  our  domestic  concerns.  We 
amuse  ourselves  with  the  many-tongued  rumors  which 
float  about  on  the  popular  breeze,  that  England  or  France 
has  recognized  the  Confederacy,  or  that  the  Confederates 
have  gained  a  new  victory,  etc.,  etc.  Then  there  are  frequent 
domestic  quarrels,  free  fights,  passes  with  the  bayonet, 
and  hand  to  hand  encounters,  to  vary  the  monotony  of  our 
peaceful  life  here.  As  soon  as  night  sets  in  the  candles 


WINTER  QUARTERS,   1861-62  53 

are  lit  and  we  draw  round  the  stove  and  take  down  our 
books,  or  else  someone  reads  aloud  till  the  newspaper  arrives, 
when  other  occupations  are  suspended,  and  we  listen  to 
the  news  of  the  day.  Then  someone  proposes  a  song  and 
" Maryland,  my  Maryland"  is  generally  the  first.  We 
hear  that  it  is  universally  popular  in  Baltimore.  We  sang 
it  by  request  for  General  Beauregard  some  time  since. 
I  will  send  you  an  account  of  it  taken  from  the  Richmond 
Dispatch.  I  was  one  of  the  singers.  The  "  enthusiastic 
young  lieutenant"  was  my  captain.  Sometimes  we  get 
George  Williamson  to  tell  of  his  travels  in  Europe.  He  is 
so  entertaining,  so  happy  in  conversation,  and  so  thoroughly 
cultivated,  that  it  is  delightful  to  listen  to  him.  He  is 
one  of  the  finest  men  I  know.  Do  the  girls  know  him  well? 
We  laugh  at  him  about  his  restless  energy.  If  he  cannot  be 
at  anything  else,  he  will  drive  some  nails  to  hang  his  coat 
on,  or  make  a  shelf  to  put  his  books  on,  or  something  of 
the  sort.  We  visited  Carvel  Hall  the  other  night  (C., 
George,  Mac.,  Jim  G.  and  myself)  and  had  a  very  pleasant 
time.  Some  of  the  party  played  whist,  and  the  rest  (Carvel, 

George  and  I)  talked  cozily  around  the  fire.     Colonel , 

a  Virginian,  came  in  and  sat  down  with  us,  and  talked  to 
us  in  as  friendly  a  way  as  if  we  had  been  his  equals  in  rank. 
Later  in  the  evening  we  had  oysters,  raw  and  stewed,  and 
at  intervals  of  about  half  an  hour,  those  who  drank  indulged 
in  whiskey-toddy.  When  we  returned  to  our  hut  ("Mrs." 
Boiling  and  "  Mrs."  Redmond  had  promised  to  sit  up  for  us) 
we  found  the  mess  chest  and  a  barrel  and  boxes  piled  up 
before  the  door:  this  was  followed  by  a  fall,  and  then  we 
routed  the  rest  out  of  bed  and  the  fight  that  ensued  made 
such  a  noise  that  the  colonel  sent  some  men  to  arrest  us. 
They  did  not  do  it  though.  We  have  a  cook  now  and  live 
very  comfortably.  It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  feel  that  all 
this  is  the  work  of  our  own  hands.  We  appoint  an" "  officer 
of  the  day  "  whose  duty  it  is  to  make  the  fire  and  spread 
the  ashes  on  the  floor  and  sweep  up.  We  have  a  kitchen, 


54  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

outside  the  shanty.  This  morning  we  had  inspection,  and 
afterwards  each  shanty  was  inspected  by  the  colonel  and 
staff.  "Ah!"  said  he,  "this  looks  like  a  soldier's  house." 
Our  roof  is  of  shingles,  out  of  trees  felled  by  our  own  hands. 
Our  beds  are  made  of  light  poles  laid  close  together;  they 
have  a  pleasant  spring  to  them  and  I  think  as  agreeable  a 
bed  as  I  ever  slept  in.  Yesterday  I  put  up  a  rack  for  the 
guns,  and  everything  is  now  in  first-rate  order.  Who  knows 
how  long  we  will  be  here  to  enjoy  the  fruit  of  our  labors? 
Our  disaster  in  Kentucky  is  much  to  be  deplored.  Yet 
our  men  fought  well  till  they  were  overpowered. 

I  have  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  corporal  of  the 
Color  Guard,  (about  two  months  ago.)  Intend  trying  to 
improve  the  months  of  inactivity  by  reading  and  studying 
German.  I  received  from  you  the  other  day  some  gloves 
and  sugar  plums.  The  last  article  was  particularly  accept 
able.  Don't  try  to  send  me  anything,  for  it  is  so  uncertain, 
and  I  have  everything  I  want.  Love  to  all. 

Among  the  other  literature  that  occupied  me  during 
these  few  brief  weeks  in  winter  quarters,  I  find  note 
of  the  following:  some  of  the  works  of  Spenser,  the 
poet,  and  his  Life;  Macaulay's  Essay  on  Madame 
D'Arblay,  and  the  latter's  famous  novel,  " Evelina"; 
also  Carlyle's  "Heroes  and  Hero-worship."  And 
among  the  subjects  discussed  in  our  mess,  I  find  the 
following:  Vattel  and  Philmore  on  International  Law; 
Humboldt's  works  and  travels;  the  African  explora 
tions  of  Harth,  the  great  German  traveller,  from  the 
Atlantic  almost  to  the  Red  Sea,  in  a  line  a  few  degrees 
above  the  equator;  the  influence  of  climate  on  the 
human  features;  the  culture  of  cotton;  the  laws  relat 
ing  to  property,  etc.  In  further  illustration  of  the  high 
character  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Confederate  Army, 


WINTER  QUARTERS,   1861-62  55 

I  may  mention  that  in  the  Rockbridge  Artillery  (Va.) 
(one  company)  there  were,  in  1861,  seven  Masters  of 
Arts  of  the  University  of  Virginia  (a  degree  very  diffi 
cult  of  attainment  there),  twenty-eight  college  grad 
uates,  and  twenty-five  theological  students,  —  all  these 
serving  as  private  soldiers. 

I  may  also  mention  that  the  present  eminent  profes 
sor  of  oriental  languages  in  Harvard  University,  Dr. 
Crawford  H.  Toy,  was  a  private  in  a  Virginia  regiment. 
He  was  found  by  a  friend  in  an  interval  of  the  battle 
of  Cold  Harbor  in  June,  1864,  lying  on  his  oil-cloth, 
immersed  in  the  study  of  Arabic.  Major  Robert  Stiles, 
in  his  fascinating  book,  "Four  Years  under  Marse 
Robert,"  writes: 

"I  had  lived  for  years  at  the  North, had  graduated  recently 
from  Yale,  and  had  but  just  entered  upon  the  study  of  law 
in  the  City  of  New  York  when  the  war  began.  Thus  torn 
away  by  the  inexorable  demands  of  conscience  and  of  loyalty 
to  the  South,  from  a  focal  point  of  intense  intellectual  life 
and  purpose,  one  of  my  keenest  regrets  was  that  I  was 
bidding  a  long  good-by  to  congenial  surroundings  and  com 
panionships.  To  my  surprise  and  delight,  around  the 
camp-fires  of  the  First  Company,  Richmond  Howitzers, 
I  found  throbbing  an  intellectual  life  as  high  and  brilliant 
and  intense  as  any  I  had  ever  known." 

He  adds  that  no  law  school  in  the  land  ever  had 
more  brilliant  or  powerful  moot  court  discussions  than 
graced  the  mock  trials  of  the  Howitzer  Law  Club. 

"I  have  known,"  he  says,  "the  burial  of  a  tame  crow  .  .  . 
to  be  dignified  not  only  by  salvos  of  artillery,  but  also  by 
an  English  speech,  a  Latin  oration,  and  a  Greek  ode,  which 
would  have  done  honor  to  any  literary  or  memorial  occasion 
at  old  Yale." 


56  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Nor  was  this  high  type  of  men  confined  to  the  troops 
of  Maryland  and  Virginia.  By  no  means.  In  the 
Louisiana  regiments,  for  instance,  in  Dick  Taylor's 
brigade,  besides  his  "  gentle  Tigers/'  who  were  indeed 
chiefly  of  a  decidedly  tough  element,  the  Seventh 
and  Ninth  Louisiana  were  largely  made  up  of  planters 
and  the  sons  of  planters,  and  the  majority  were  said 
to  be  men  of  fortune.  And  so  it  was  in  many  regi 
ments  from  the  other  Southern  States. 

The  following  from  my  diary  shows  the  feeling  of 
a  youth  of  nineteen  about  the  deteriorating  influence 
of  army  life. 

"Friday,  Jan.  24th,  1862.  Nearly  seven  months  have 
flown  by  in  my  soldier's  life,  and  they  have  been  months 
of  external  activity,  but  activity  of  the  body  only.  It  has 
been  a  period  of  mental  slumber  —  nay,  sloth  —  for  the 
mind  has  not  even  dreamed,  it  has  stagnated,  —  the  outward 
life,  the  daily  duties  of  a  soldier,  have  been  all-absorbing, 
and  reflection  —  the  turning  of  the  mind  back  upon  itself  — 
has  been  almost  entirely  obscured.  This  has  been  the  ten 
dency,  but  need  not  have  been  the  result,  except  to  a  degree, 
of  circumstances.  The  gaze  of  men  has  been  upon  me 
by  day,  and  by  night  wearied  nature  has  claimed  repose. 

"  I  wish  to  begin  anew  a  reflective  life,  now  that  a  breath 
ing  spell  is  afforded  after  the  labors  of  the  campaign.  In 
this  humble  hut,  when  my  companions  are  wrapt  in  slumber, 
I  will  say  to  my  mind  'Be  free!'  I  desire  also  to  improve 
the  time,  and  to  discipline  and  drill  my  mind.  To  this 
end,  daily  reading,  a  greedy  ear,  and  a  summing  up  at 
the  end  of  each  day  of  what  I  have  learned  by  reading, 
by  listening,  and  by  observation,  will  be  conducive." 


What  a  boy  of  nineteen  thought  of  "  Evelina 
thus  set  down  under  date  of  Feb.  1,  1862: 


" 


WINTER  QUARTERS,   1861-62  57 

"I  read  the  story  before  knowing  anything  of  the  estab 
lished  reputation  and  great  merit  of  Miss  Burney.  The 
admiration  then  which  the  purity  and  simplicity  of  her 
style,  and  the  vivacity  of  her  wit  awakened  in  me,  was  totally 
unprejudiced.  I  received  her  book  as  she  threw  it  on 
the  world,  with  no  recommendation  save  its  own  intrinsic 
merits.  The  simple  truth  of  her  delineation  of  character, 
and  the  exalted  morality  which  pervades  the  whole  book, 
struck  me  with  great  force,  even  while  ignorant  of  the  literary 
period  in  which  she  wrote,  when  novels  were  generally 
vicious,  and  always  indelicate.  The  character  of  Evelina 
approaches  as  near  as  may  be  my  ideal  of  female  delicacy 
and  refinement.  Yet  she  seems  to  me  to  have  lacked 
firmness  and  decision  on  several  occasions,  and  to  have 
shown  too  facile  and  yielding  a  disposition.  Macaulay's 
critique  is  extremely  interesting.  He  places  the  author 
in  the  rank  of  eminent  English  novelists,  yet  denies  her 
the  first  rank." 

One  day  word  came  to  our  quarters  that  two  ladies 
desired  to  see  my  cousin,  W.  Duncan  McKim,  and  my 
self  at  Fairfax  Station.  This  was  exciting  news,  but 
I  found  Duncan  very  reluctant  to  obey  the  summons. 
In  civilized  life  he  had  been  rather  exquisite  in  dress 
and  manners,  and  he  shrank  from  appearing  in  the 
presence  of  ladies,  surrounded  as  they  would  be  by 
well-dressed  and  well-mounted  staff  officers,  in  his 
rough  private's  garb.  He  seemed  particularly  sensi 
tive  about  wearing  a  roundabout  jacket  instead  of  a 
coat  before  them.  However,  he  yielded  to  my  persua 
sions,  and  we  prepared  to  go  to  the  station,  brush 
ing  and  polishing  up  to  the  best  of  our  ability.  I  think 
we  succeeded  in  finding  or  borrowing,  each,  a  white 
collar  for  the  occasion! 

The  ladies  who  had  summoned  us  were  Miss  Hetty 


58  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Gary,  of  Baltimore,  and  Miss  Connie  Gary,  of  Virginia. 
They  had  ridden  to  Fairfax  Station  on  the  cow-catcher 
of  an  engine  to  visit  the  army,  and  when  we  approached 
they  were  on  horseback  in  the  midst  of  a  bevy  of 
mounted  officers,  for  they  were  both  famous  beauties, 
and,  besides,  enthusiastic  friends  of  the  cause.  When 
the  young  lieutenant  who  had  ridden  to  our  camp  to 
deliver  the  message  saw  us  coming  he  pointed  us  out 
to  the  ladies,  saying,  " There  come  your  friends." 
We  heard  afterwards  (fortunately  not  then)  that  they 
told  him  he  must  be  mistaken  —  those  men  could  not 
be  the  gentlemen  they  were  expecting.  Doubtless  we 
were  much  changed  and  looked  very  rough.  It  was 
embarrassing  for  us;  but  when  we  were  near  enough 
to  be  recognized,  they  were  most  gracious  and  soon 
put  us  at  our  ease. 

Life  in  winter  quarters  was  varied  by  a  very  occa 
sional  excursion.  Thus,  under  date  of  February  6,  I 
find  the  following  entry: 

"  On  Tuesday  I  rode  to  Centre ville  and  passed  a  delightful 
day,  principally  in  the  genial  company  of  my  dear  friend 
Galliard.  He  is  a  man  of  sweetness  of  disposition  and  such 
warmth  of  feeling  as  is  rarely  met  with;  and  he  is  withal 
so  intelligent  in  his  conversation,  and  so  spirited  and  reso 
lute  in  his  actions  that  no  one  that  knows  him  could 
withhold  their  admiration.  I  borrowed  of  him  Carlyle's 
"  Heroes  and  Hero-worship."  On  my  return  I  found  a  letter 
from  Tom  Mackall.  He  is  in  his  cousin  Colonel  Mackall's 
office,  and  he  is  Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston's  adjutant- 
general  at  Bowling  Green,  Ky.  His  letter  is  full  of  interest, 
and  I  have  learned  more  from  it  of  the  Bowling  Green  army 
and  the  situation  of  affairs  in  that  quarter  than  by  all  that 
has  been  in  the  papers  since  the  place  was  occupied.  The 
army  (he  thinks)  is  a  very  fine  one,  equal  in  many  respects 


WINTER  QUARTERS,   1861-62  59 

to  our  army  here,  —  deficient  in  the  manual  of  arms  and 
in  'the  cadenced  step/  but  familiar  with  the  evolutions 
not  only  of  the  battalion  and  the  brigade,  but  also  of  the 
division.  He  is  much  struck  with  the  remarkable  superi 
ority  of  the  horses  and  mules  to  those  in  this  army.  The 
army  too  is  much  better  provisioned.  He  tells  me  he 
is  confident  if  I  get  a  certificate  from  Colonel  Steuart 
and  go  out  there,  his  cousin,  Colonel  Mackall,  will  appoint 
me  drill  master  with  rank  and  pay  of  first  or  second  lieu 
tenant." 

How  thankful  I  feel  that  I  did  not  take  this  bait 
and  leave  the  army  of  Lee  and  Jackson,  but  contented 
myself  with  my  place  as  a  private  soldier  in  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia,  and  so  had  part  in  the  great  cam 
paigns  of  1862,  1863,  and  1864. 

I  have  mentioned  above  the  name  of  Gen.  Albert 
Sidney  Johnston,  the  commander  of  the  western 
Confederate  Army.  He  fell,  as  will  be  remembered, 
at  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  April  6th,  1862,  in  the  moment 
of  a  great  victory  achieved  by  his  masterly  strategy 
and  his  indomitable  resolution.  Nothing  is  clearer 
than  that,  had  he  lived  to  follow  up  his  success  and  carry 
out  his  plans,  General  Grant's  army  would  have  been 
destroyed  before  General  Buell  with  his  fresh  troops, 
25,000  strong,  could  have  reached  him.  I  embrace 
this  opportunity  of  paying  the  tribute  of  my  reverent 
admiration  to  this  great  soldier  and  knightly  Chris 
tian  gentleman,  and  I  would  recall  to  the  reader  the 
fact  that  he  lost  his  life  as  a  result  of  his  chivalrous 
act  in  imperatively  requiring  his  surgeon,  who  should 
have  been  by  his  side,  to  go  to  the  help  of  the  Federal 
wounded  on  the  field  of  battle  from  which  their  army 
had  been  driven.  " These  men,"  he  said,  "have  been 


60  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

our  enemies;  they  are  now  our  prisoners.     Do  all  you 
can  to  relieve  their  sufferings.'7 

Had  the  surgeon  been  with  General  Johnston  when 
he  received  his  wound,  he  could  easily  have  saved 
his  life.  He  bled  to  death  from  a  wound  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  leg.  This  unselfish  act  of  his  at  Shiloh  sur 
passes  the  deed  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney  at  Ziitphen,  which 
has  made  him  an  immortal  example  of  generous 
chivalry. 

This  brief  sketch  of  life  in  winter  quarters  would  be 
incomplete  without  some  reference  to  the  religious 
services  which  some  of  us  conducted  in  our  company. 
Our  chaplain  was  a  man  without  much  force,  and  with 
still  less  zeal  for  his  sacred  functions,  so  that  we  felt 
the  need  of  supplementing  his  efforts.  Under  date 
of  Jan.  30th,  1862,  I  find  the  following: 

"For  the  third  or  fourth  time  in  these  singular  months 
since  July  last,  I  endeavored  to  give  an  impetus  to  my 
cherished  idea  of  social  prayer-meetings,  and  this  time  (the 
beginning  of  Dec.,  1861)  with  marked  success.  They  were 
held  nightly,  instead  of  weekly,  or  occasionally,  as  before. 
At  first  we  met  in  private  tents,  but  finally  we  procured  a 
tent  for  the  purpose,  "and  fitted  it  up  with  rude  benches 
so  as  to  accommodate  twenty-five  or  thirty  men.  Gradually 
our  numbers  had  increased,  and  this  would  hardly  give 
seats  to  as  many  as  would  come.  Among  the  attendants 
were  some  from  the  other  companies  of  the  regiment. 
Captain  Murray  was  a  regular  and  devout  attendant.  I 
began  to  feel  grateful  for  the  success  of  the  effort  in  its 
outward  manifestations,  and  hopeful  of  its  inward  benefit 
to  the  soldiers  of  the  regiment.  Giraud  Wright,  George 
Williamson,  Valiant,  and  myself  regularly  conducted  the 
meetings.  Giraud  and  I  used  extempore  prayer;  the  others 


WINTER  QUARTERS,   1861-62  61 

the  forms  of  the  Prayer-book.  This  continued  till  we  broke 
up  our  camp  at  Centreville  and  removed  to  our  present 
position.  In  the  hurry  of  departure,  I  forgot  the  tent  and 
it  was  left  behind.  This  loss,  together  with  the  all-absorbing 
employment  of  building  our  winter  quarters  has  broken 
up  this  hopeful  work.  I  cannot  acquit  myself  of  much 
blame  on  this  account.  Thus,  after  five  or  six  weeks  this 
effort,  like  its  predecessors,  was  discontinued." 

But  another  effort  was  made,  for  on  Tuesday,  Feb. 
4th,  I  wrote  in  my  diary: 

"On  Saturday  evening  I  again  commenced  the  prayer- 
meetings.  Only  a  few  came,  but  I  felt  sure  the  numbers 
would  increase.  The  next  day  I  was  sent  over  to  Major 
Snowden's  headquarters  as  corporal  of  the  guard  and  was 
obliged  to  stay  all  night.  I  read  the  xxvuth  chapter  of 
St.  Matthew  aloud  to  the  men  on  guard." 

Later  in  the  war  a  wave  of  religious  interest  and 
revival  swept  over  the  entire  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia,  —  but  it  has  often  been  described  and  I  need 
not  dwell  upon  it  here. 


CHAPTER   VII 

A   WINTER   FURLOUGH 

AS  the  spring  of  1862  approached,  the  Confederate 
authorities  were  confronted  by  the  prospect 
of  seeing  their  armies  melt  away  in  face  of  the  enemy, 
by  reason  of  the  fact  that  most  of  the  regiments  had 
been  enlisted  for  but  one  year.  So,  to  encourage 
reenlistment,  a  furlough  of  thirty  days  and  a  bounty 
of  fifty  dollars  were  offered  to  all  volunteers  who  should 
reenlist  "for  two  years"  [so  my  diary  reads,  but  my 
memory  says  "for  the  war"  -  and  this  I  think  is  cor 
rect],  "provided  not  more  than  one-fifth  of  a  regiment 
shall  be  absent  at  one  time."  Hearing  this  news,  I 
told  Watkins  and  Inloes  of  it,  "and  proposed  to  them 
to  embrace  the  offer."  "Next  day  we  went  round 
and  talked  to  those  of  the  regiment  who  were  in  camp 
(the  bulk  of  it  being  on  picket),  and  finally  seven  agreed 
to  reenlist."  "In  a  few  days  we  will  get  our  furlough 
and  the  bounty  of  fifty  dollars  and  leave  this  delectable 
place!" 

Words  cannot  express  the  delight  a  soldier  felt  at 
the  prospect  of  a  return  to  "civilization"  for  the  space 
of  thirty  days.  To  have  the  opportunity  of  a  daily 
bath,  or  at  least  a  daily  "wash  up";  to  change  one's 
clothes;  to  sleep  in  a  bed;  to  hear  no  "reveille"  at 
four  in  the  morning;  not  to  be  disturbed  in  the  evening 
by  the  inevitable  "taps";  to  sit  down  at  a  table  covered 

62 


A  WINTER  FURLOUGH  63 

with  a  white  cloth;  not  to  be  met  at  every  meal  by  the 
unvarying  "menu"  of  " slap-jacks  and  bacon,"  or 
" bacon  and  soda  biscuit,"  -yes,  to  feast  on  the  "fat 
of  the  land"  before  the  land  had  grown  lean  and  hun 
gry,  as  it  did  in  another  twelvemonth;  to  bask  in  the 
smiles  of  the  noble  women  of  the  Confederacy;  to  enjoy 
once  more  their  delightful  society;  to  be  welcomed 
and  feted  like  a  hero  wherever  you  went  by  the  men 
as  well  as  the  women,  —  all  this  was  an  experience 
the  deliciousness  of  which  no  man  who  has  not  been 
a  Confederate  soldier  can  have  any  idea  of,  —  and  the 
private  soldier  enjoyed  it  in  a  higher  degree  than  the 
commissioned  officer,  for  he  generally  had  a  few  more 
comforts,  or  at  least  a  few  less  hardships,  than  the  sol 
diers  in  the  ranks.  True,  we  Maryland  boys  had  no 
home  waiting  to  open  its  doors  to  us  during  our  fur 
lough,  but  the  Virginians  always  gave  us  a  peculiarly 
warm  welcome,  and,  because  we  were  exiles,  did  their 
best  to  make  us  feel  that  their  homes  were  ours.  The 
soldiers  of  the  Union  were  well  clothed  and  well  fed,  but 
they  could  never  have  such  a  welcome  as  we  had,  or 
be  such  heroes  as  we  were  when  they  went  on  furlough, 
because  there  was  no  such  solidarity  of  feeling  in  the 
North  as  there  was  in  the  South.  The  condition  of 
the  two  peoples  was  entirely  different.  The  Southern 
soldier  was  fighting  to  repel  invasion.  He  was  regarded 
as  the  defender  of  the  homes  and  firesides  of  the  people. 
The  common  perils,  the  common  hardships,  the  com 
mon  sacrifices,  of  the  war,  welded  the  Southern  people 
together  as  if  they  were  all  of  the  same  blood,  all  of 
one  family.  In  fact,  there  was,  independently  of  the 
war,  a  homogeneity  in  the  South  that  the  North  knew 
nothing  of.  But  when  the  war  came  all  this  was 


64  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

greatly  intensified.  We  were  all  one  family  then. 
Every  Confederate  soldier  was  welcomed,  wherever  he 
went,  to  the  best  the  people  had.  When  he  approached 
a  house  to  seek  for  food  or  shelter,  he  never  had  the 
least  misgiving  as  to  how  he  would  be  received.  The 
warmest  welcome  and  the  most  generous  hospitality 
awaited  him  —  that  he  knew  beforehand. 

Such  an  experience,  even  though  it  lasted  but  thirty 
or  forty  days,  was  a  compensation  for  much  that  he 
endured.  The  memory  of  it  lingers  delightfully  after 
eight  and  forty  years.  We  could  truly  say,  "Olim 
meminisse  juvabit."  And  to  have  passed  four  years  in 
such  an  atmosphere,  to  have  felt  one's  self  a  unit  in  such 
a  society,  where  all  hearts  beat  as  one,  where  all  toiled 
together,  and  suffered  together,  and  hoped  and  gloried 
together,  or  else  bent  before  the  same  blast  of  adver 
sity,  —  that  was  something  to  have  lived  for  —  some 
thing  to  die  for,  too  —  something  the  fragrant  memory 
of  which  can  never  pass  away. 

In  my  case,  however,  there  was  more  even  than 
this.  Allied,  through  my  noble  mother,  with  many 
of  the  old  families  of  Virginia,  —  the  Randolphs,  the 
Harrisons,  the  Carters,  the  Pages,  the  Nelsons,  the 
Lees  (to  name  no  more),  —  I  found  myself  among  kins 
folk  wherever  I  went  in  the  old  State.  During  my 
thirty  days  furlough,  which  somehow  was  lengthened 
out  to  forty  days,  I  visited  Clarke  County,  and  then 
Richmond  and  the  James  River,  and  Lynchburg,  and 
Fredericksburg  and  Charlottesville  and  Staunton,  and 
in  all  those  places  I  was  welcomed  by  people  of  my  own 
blood,  who  knew  all  about  me,  and  who  received  me, 
not  only  with  cordiality  because  I  was  a  Confederate 
soldier,  but  with  affection  because  I  was  a  relative. 


A   WINTER  FURLOUGH  65 

So  on  my  travels,  those  six  weeks,  I  had  "the  best 
time  going "  and  was  as  happy  as  the  days  were  long. 
Millwood,  Clarke  County,  was  my  first  objective. 
Taking  the  train  at  Manassas,  February  7th,  I 
got  out  at  Piedmont,  where  fortunately  I  found  a 
conveyance  which  took  me  as  far  as  Upperville.  To 
quote  from  my  diary: 

"For  the  second  time  I  travelled  over  that  road,  but  this 
time  in  a  different  direction,  under  different  circumstances 
and  for 'a  different  purpose.  All  the  scenes  and  occurrences 
of  the  19th,  20th,  and  21st  of  July  came  vividly  back.  How 
weary  and  worn  had  I  trudged  with  musket  and  knapsack 
over  that  same  road,  little  conscious  of  the  eventful  scene  I 
was  soon  to  play  a  part  in.  It  was  a  moonlight  night  and 
I  recognized  each  turn  in  the  road  and  each  spring  by  the 
wayside." 

It  was  late  when  I  reached  Bollingbrooke.  The 
family  had  retired  to  bed,  and  it  was  with  difficulty 
I  waked  them  up.  John  Boiling  was  one  of  my  mess, 
and  news  of  him  was  welcome,  even  at  the  midnight 
hour.  Next  day,  Willie,  a  younger  son,  drove  me  to 
Millwood. 

"At  the  highest  point  in  the  gap  (through  the  Blue  Ridge), 
just  beside  the  road  stands  a  tree  whose  branches  overshadow 
parts  of  four  counties :  Fauquier,  Loudon,  Warren  and  Clarke. 
We  reached  the  Shenandoah  before  we  expected  to,  so 
pleasing  was  the  road,  and  so  busy  was  my  mind  recalling 
each  spot  associated  with  the  march  of  the  19th  of  July. 
The  river  was  swollen  many  feet  above  the  watermark  of 
last  summer.  It  swept  on  rapidly  as  if  defying  any  attempt 
to  ford  it  a  second  time.  Indeed,  independent  of  its  depth, 
it  would  have  been  impossible  for  man  or  horse  to  stem 
such  a  tide.  .  .  .  Willie  Boiling  told  me  that  when  he  and 


66  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

his  father  drove  to  our  camp  at  Winchester  last  summer 
a  little  boy  at  the  ford  directed  them  purposely  to  drive 
into  a  deep  hole,  and  when  they  were  almost  drowned, 
rolled  over  on  his  back  on  the  river  bank,  convulsed  with 
laughter.  They  were  obliged  to  take  the  horses  out  and 
hire  some  men  to  drag  the  wagon  out  with  ropes.  It  appears 
it  was  this  boy's  habit  to  hang  about  the  ford  and  watch 
for  strangers  and  make  them  drive  into  this  hole  for  his 
amusement.  He  could  not  have  been  more  than  eight  or 
nine  years  of  age." 

I  was  again  the  guest  at  Millwood  of  one  of  my 
mother's  sisters,  Mrs.  Wm.  Fitzhugh  Randolph,  to 
whom  I  have  already  referred. 

"Aunt  Randolph  makes  a  baby  of  me.  I  am  not  allowed 
to  wait  on  myself  —  not  even  to  pick  up  a  pin  !  At  my 
age  I  do  not  particularly  enjoy  swaddling  bands!" 

Here  I  lingered  for  twelve  days  of  my  precious  thirty, 
visiting  many  of  the  delightful  country  homes,  din 
ing  out,  spending  the  night  in  some  cases,  singing 
with  the  girls,  sleigh-riding,  attending  a  wedding, 
and  other  festivities. 

At  "The  Moorings"  lived  the  family  of  my  quon 
dam  navy  cousin,  now  Major  Beverly  Randolph.  At 
" Saratoga"  I  was  welcomed  by  my  charming  cousins, 
Mary  Frances  and  Lucy  Page.  We  sang  together 
"Maryland,  my  Maryland,"  and  I  sang  for  them 
"The  Leaf  and  the  Fountain,"  "The  Pirate's  Glee," 
and  "Silence,"  which  they  seemed  pleased  with.  I 
dined  also  at  stately  "Carter  Hall,"  and  my  diary 
mentions  that  "seven,  eight,  and  nine  o'clock  struck 
while  we  were  at  the  dinner  table."  They  "compelled 
me  to  stay  all  night,"  —  to  my  sorrow,  for  breakfast 


A  WINTER  FURLOUGH  67 

was  not  served  next  day  till  eleven  o'clock,  and  this 
to  a  soldier  disciplined  for  months  to  answer  roll-call 
at  four  A.M.  was  no  small  trial!  " Bored  to  death," 
was  my  memorandum  of  this.  Another  day  I  dined 
at  "New  Market "  with  my  cousin  Dr.  Robert  Ran 
dolph,  and  was  warmly  received  and  as  usual  "  com 
pelled  to  stay  all  night."  Cousin  Lucy  (Dr.  R.'s 
wife)  "was  very  affectionate  and  kissed  me."  "Next 
morning,  after  prayers,  seeing  an  old  lady  with  a  cap 
on  come  into  the  room,"  I  supposed  she  was  Mrs. 
Randolph,  "though  looking  much  older  than  on  the 
previous  evening."  Accordingly  "I  saluted  her  with 
a  kiss  before  the  old  lady  had  time  to  show  her  sur 
prise,"  and  before  I  discovered  that  it  was  Mrs.  Bur- 
well,  Mrs.  Randolph's  mother.  We  had  never  met 
before,  but  nobody  seemed  surprised  at  what  I  had 
done. 

I  may  here  set  down  a  remark  in  my  diary  to  this 
effect:  "I  have  never  heard  anyone  here  address  any 
one  else  by  a  more  formal  title  than  ' cousin.'  What 
ever  the  company,  it  is  always  the  same." 

This  reminds  me  of  Michelet's  description  of  Bur 
gundy,  which  is  applicable  in  several  respects  to  Vir 
ginia.  However,  the  only  part  of  it  I  can  now  recall 
is  this,  "It  is  a  land  of  joyous  Christmases,  where 
everyone  calls  everyone  else  '  cousin."  My  diary 
mentions  also  the  wedding  of  Mr.  Warren  Smith  and 
Miss  Betty  Randolph,  which  took  place  at  "New 
Market"  at  five  P.M.,  "with  eight  bridesmaids." 
The  entertainment  which  followed  was  prolonged 
till  one  o'clock  next  morning. 

Such  was  the  happy  gayety  and  the  prodigal  hos 
pitality  in  old  Clarke  County  the  first  winter  of  our 


68  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

cruel  war.  It  had  not  yet  felt  the  iron  heel  of  the 
invader.  The  winters  that  followed  till  1865  would 
tell  a  different  tale.  It  is  still  a  beautiful  country, 
and  some  of  the  fine  old  homesteads  still  survive, 
though  few  of  them  are  owned  by  the  same  old 
families. 

I  next  turned  my  steps,  February  20th,  to  Rich 
mond,  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy,  where  I 
found  another  nest  of  relatives  and  many  friends. 
At  Piedmont,  where  I  struck  the  railroad  and  spent 
the  night,  "I  wrote  some  blank  verse  rather  to  vent 
my  feelings  than  to  while  away  the  time, "  -the 
subject  whereof  has  not  been  preserved  in  my  record! 
Met  many  old  acquaintances  on  the  way,  and  made 
some  new  ones,  among  them  a  very  clever  and  charm 
ing  young  lady,  with  whom  I  had  aa  long  conver 
sation  on  the  subject  of  matrimony,"  -  altogether 
impersonal,  however! 

I  was  just  in  time  for  the  inauguration  of  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  Davis  as  President  of  the  Confederate  States  of 
America.  It  took  place  February  22d,  in  the  Capitol 
Square,  amid  a  downpour  of  rain.  In  the  evening 
the  President  held  a  levee  which  I  attended  in  com 
pany  with  Mrs.  James  Lyons  and  Miss  Mary  Lyons, 
enjoying  myself  hugely,  and  finding  Mr.  Davis  very 
gracious  and  affable.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  presence 
and  of  distinguished  abilities,  as  was  well  recognized 
in  ante  bellum  days  when  he  was  Secretary  of  War, 
and  later  when  he  represented  Mississippi  in  the 
United  States  Senate.  It  was  he  who  first  projected 
a  transcontinental  railway.  His  State  papers  were 
models  of  vigorous  English.  He  was  a  graduate  of 
West  Point,  and  had  shed  his  blood  gallantly  in  the 


A  WINTER  FURLOUGH  69 

Mexican  War.  Had  he  been  quite  ignorant  of  mil 
itary  matters,  he  would  have  been  a  more  successful 
President.  In  that  case  it  is  likely  Robert  E.  Lee 
would  have  been  made  commander-in-chief  in  1862, 
instead  of  in  1865,  when  it  was  too  late. 

The  Southern  people  forgave  all  his  mistakes  and 
set  him  on  high  as  their  martyred  President,  when 
Gen.  Nelson  Miles  put  him  in  irons  at  Fortress  Mon 
roe  after  the  war  was  over.  He  was  a  man  of  exalted 
character,  and  had  a  knightly  soul. 

In  Richmond  I  met  "  acquaintances  innumerable," 
and  many  relations,  among  the  former  "Tom  Dudley" 
(destined  to  be  a  famous  bishop),  with  whom  I  dined. 
He  was,  I  think,  in  one  of  the  departments  of  the 
government  in  Richmond. 

The  very  next  day,  February  23d,  Fort  Donelson 
fell,  and  my  Uncle  Peyton's  son,  Dabney  Harrison, 
was  killed,  gallantly  leading  his  company.  He  was 
a  Presbyterian  minister,  but  felt  the  call  to  defend  his 
State  from  the  invader,  and,  doffing  his  ministerial 
office,  raised  a  company  in  his  own  congregation  and 
was  elected  its  captain.  His  course  and  his  fate 
were  similar  to  those  of  Bishop  Polk,  who  laid  aside 
his  episcopal  robes  and  became  lieutenant-general 
in  the  Southwestern  Army  —  with  this  difference, 
that  he  had  had  a  military  education  at  West  Point. 
General  Pendleton,  Lee's  chief  of  artillery,  was  an 
other  example  of  a  clergyman  entering  the  army  as  a 
combatant. 

The  same  day  my  uncle  lost  his  daughter  Nannie 
by  scarlet  fever  at  Brandon  on  the  James  River. 
The  previous  July,  at  the  battle  of  Manassas,  the  dear 
old  gentleman  had  lost  another  son,  Capt.  Peyton 


70  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Harrison,  and  still  another,  Wm.  Wirt  Harrison,  had 
been  severely  wounded.  Not  long  afterwards,  his 
married  daughter  Mary,  Mrs.  Robt.  Hunter,  died 
in  childbed,  her  illness  brought  on  prematurely  by  a 
raid  of  the  Federal  soldiers.  Still  later  his  son, 
Dr.  Randolph  Harrison,  was  wounded  and  died,  and 
his  youngest  son  Harry  was  taken  prisoner. 

He  bore  it  all  like  a  noble  Roman  —  or  rather  like 
a  brave  Christian,  which  he  was.  The  story  of  this 
family  is  that  of  many  another  in  the  South. 

I  may  here  mention  that  I  had'  twenty-four  first 
cousins  in  the  Confederate  Army  on  my  mother's 
side,  most  of  them  bearing  the  name  of  Harrison. 

After  some  halcyon  days  in  Richmond  among  my 
many  friends,  college  mates,  and  kinsfolk,  I  took  the 
steamboat,  February  26th,  down  the  river  to  upper 
Brandon,  the  home  of  my  mother's  sister,  Mrs.  Wm. 
B.  Harrison  and  her  husband.  There  I  indulged  in  the 
sport  of  wild  duck  shooting  several  times  with  vary 
ing  luck.  George  Harrison,  a  year  younger  than  I, 
was  at  home,  and  we  had  long  talks  over  the  fire  till 
the  "wee  sma'  hours,"  much  of  it  about  the  Christian 
ministry,  to  which  we  both  aspired,  and  we  usually 
ended  with  united  prayer. 

The  following  Sunday  was  the  Fast  Day  appointed 
by  President  Jefferson  Davis,  and  we  rode  horseback 
to  Cabin  Point  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  received 
the  holy  communion  together. 

The  following  Sunday  was  stormy,  so  we  had  the 
church  service  at  home,  and  I  read  a  sermon  aloud. 
I  also  examined  Dr.  A.  T.  Bledsoe's  "  Theodicy,"  --a 
very  able  book,  by  the  way. 

The  next  day,  March  3d,  George  and  I  set  out  for 


A  WINTER  FURLOUGH  71 

Jamestown  Island,  but  the  boat  was  caught  in  a  fog 
and  obliged  to  return.  On  the  4th  we  started  again 
and  reached  the  island,  which  we  found  fortified  with 
thirteen  guns,  Columbiads,  thirty-two  pounders,  and 
Dahlgrens.  How  strange  a  spectacle  —  the  island 
where  the  first  English  settlers  landed  in  1607  and 
planted  the  seeds  of  English  civilization,  English  lib 
erty,  and  the  English  Church,  fortifying  itself  against 
the  invasion  of  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans  who 
landed  in  1620! 

George's  brothef  and  my  dear  friend,  Capt.  Shir 
ley  Harrison,  was  there  in  command  of  a  company 
of  heavy  artillery.  He  was  "well,  and  living  like  a 
lord"!  Twice  more  we  went  ducking. 

It  is  sad  to  reflect  on  the  fate  of  my  uncle's  princely 
home  of  Brandon,  where  in  the  old  days  as  many  as 
forty  guests  would  sometimes  be  entertained.  It 
was  shelled  later  in  the  war  by  the  Federal  gunboats 
and  rendered  untenantable.  After  the  war  financial 
disaster  overtook  him  and  his  sons,  and  the  place  was 
sold  for  debt. 

Lower  Brandon  and  Berkeley  were  two  other  Harri 
son  seats,  much  older  than  my  uncle's.  The  family's 
history  in  America  began  in  1634  with  Benjamin 
Harrison,  the  emigrant.  It  was  one  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  in  the  old  colonial  days. 

March  6th  I  returned  to  Brandon,  and  next  day 
drove  with  my  uncle  William  to  Petersburg,  thirty 
miles  —  roads  very  bad,  and  the  journey  took  seven 
hours.  We  found  Richmond  under  martial  law.  March 
8th  I  proceeded  to  Fredericksburg,  where  I  was  the 
guest,  at  Kenmore,  of  another  aunt,  Mrs.  Randolph 
Harrison.  Visited  also  "Santee,"  the  home  of  Mr. 


72  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Sam  Gordon.  Saw  more  Harrison  soldiers,  my  cous 
ins.  The  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  my  mother, 
written  just  before  returning  from  furlough,  may  illus 
trate  the  spirit  of  the  Southern  people  at  this  time: 

KENMORE,    March    10,    1862. 

~0ur  affairs  look  dark,  but  not  hopeless.  The  war  may 
be  a  long  one,  but  it  can  have  but  one  termination  —  our 
independence.  We  are  stimulated  to  new  exertion,  our 
people  are  roused  to  action,  and  there  exists  a  deep-seated 
resolve  in  the  heart  of  the  nation,  to  choose  extermination 
before  subjugation.  "God  and  the  Right "  is  our  motto. 
For  my  part,  I  have  cast  my  lot  irrevocably  with  this  sacred 
cause.  I  have  reenlisted,  and  shall  continue  to  do  so  until 
the  end  is  accomplished.  If  I  fall,  do  not  grieve  for  me. 
Your  son  would  prefer  such  a  death  to  any  but  a  martyr's, 
and  you  will  not  be  ashamed  to  think  that  I  have  died  in 
my  country's  cause.  But  I  have  no  presentiment  whatever, 
—  I  only  speak  of  possibilities. 

Good-by,  father,  mother,  brother,  sisters.  God  bless  you 
all  is  my  prayer. 

On  March  llth  I  set  out  again  for  Millwood  —  why, 
I  do  not  know,  for  my  thirty  days  furlough  was  at 
an  end,  and  I  have  no  record  of  its  extension  —  though  I 
conclude  it  must  have  been,  for  I  would  not  have 
been  insubordinate,  I  am  sure.  I  travelled  by  stage 
as  far  as  Mt.  Jackson,  but  did  not  reach  Millwood,  for 
Manassas  had  been  evacuated,  Winchester  also,  and 
Clarke  County  was  now  in  possession  of  the  enemy. 
I  passed  through  Staunton,  where  I  found  more  Har 
rison  relations,  and  then  stopped  at  Greenwood 
Depot  with  another  sister  of  my  mother,  Mrs.  Dr. 
Garrett.  Then  to  Charlottesville,  where  of  course  I 


A  WINTER  FURLOUGH  73 

met  many  friends,  and  also  another  daughter  of  my 
Uncle  Peyton,  Mrs.  Hoge,  and  the  widow  of  my 
cousin  Dabney  Harrison. 

March  17th  I  set  out  again  for  camp,  but  was 
"stopped"  at  Gordons ville  and  obliged  to  return  to 
"Edge  Hill,"  where  I  had  a  nest  of  Randolph  cousins 
—  among  them  Cousin  Sarah,  who  later  wrote  that 
charming  book,  "Domestic  Life  of  Thomas  Jefferson." 
We  had  a  most  interesting  horseback  ride  together  to 
Monticello,  Jefferson's  seat. 

March  22d  set  Out  once  more  for  camp,  and  on  the 
23d,  by  walking  ten  miles  from  Culpeper  Court  House, 
reached  the  regiment  encamped  on  the  Rappahannock, 
having  been  absent  six  weeks. 

I  have  given  some  account  of  my  visits  to  different 
parts  of  Virginia  during  my  furlough  because  they 
reflect  the  spirit  and  the  life  of  the  people  at  that 
period  of  the  war,  February  and  March,  1862.  There 
was  still  much  comfort,  even  luxury,  in  the  manner 
of  living,  and  a  spirit  of  joyousness  and  gayety  among 
the  young.  The  war  had  not  yet  begun  to  press 
heavily  on  the  resources  of  the  South.  There  had 
been  in  Virginia  but  one  great  battle,  and  that  had 
resulted  in  so  great  a  victory  that  there  was  an  abso 
lute  confidence  among  all  classes  of  the  ultimate 
success  of  the  cause.  This  feeling  was  damped  by 
the  reverses  in  the  west  at  Fort  Donelson,  the  last 
week  in  February;  and  the  surrender  of  so  large  a 
force,  in  face  of  the  indignant  protest  of  Gen.  N.  B. 
Forrest,  was  galling  to  the  pride  of  the  South.  I 
found  everywhere  I  went  a  deep  religious  feeling. 
At  the  great  houses  in  Clarke  County  I  was  gener 
ally  asked  to  conduct  family  worship.  The  churches 


74  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

in  Richmond  and  elsewhere  were  largely  attended. 
Among  the  young  men,  I  found  it  easy  to  introduce 
the  subject  of  religion.  The  following  entry  in  my 
diary  illustrates  this: 

"While  at  Brandon,  George  and  I  had  some  very  sweet 
interviews.  One  of  them  is  peculiarly  pleasant  to  recall. 
He  was  speaking  of  his  future  prospects  in  life,  and  I  turned 
the  conversation  to  the  ministry,  and  was  delighted  to  find 
that  he  had  himself  frequently  thought  of  it.  I  endeavored 
to  strengthen  and  encourage  his  inclinations  to  enter  the 
sacred  calling.  He  told  me  it  had  been  his  sainted  mother's 
wish  that  he  should  devote  himself  to  God,  and  that  his  father 
echoes  the  same  desire.  Then  I  invited  him  to  join  me  in 
prayer,  and  with  tears  of  penitence  and  humility  we  sought 
God's  blessing.  .  .  .  Never  did  we  embrace  with  as  much 
tenderness  and  emotion  as  when  we  rose  from  that  prayer 
at  the  still  midnight  hour." 

I  brought  back  with  me  to  camp  thirty-four  copies 
of  the  New  Testament  for  distribution  and  made 
this  entry: 

"The  campaign  now  opening  is  likely  to  be  a  very  active 
and  also  a  very  bloody  one.  How  necessary  to  enter  upon 
it  with  a  soul  at  peace  with  God,  and  a  mind  prepared  for 
any  event!" 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   OPENING   OF  THE   CAMPAIGN   OF   1862 

EARLY  in  March  the  war  entered  upon  a  new 
phase.  General  McClellan  had  withdrawn  from 
Johnston's  front  at  Manassas,  and  transported  his 
army  by  water  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  was  now  ad 
vancing  on  Richmond  by  way  of  the  peninsula,  making 
the  York  River  and  the  James  his  bases.  Undoubtedly 
this  was  good  strategy  on  his  part,  for  it  enabled  him 
to  advance  under  protection  of  the  Federal  gunboats 
nearly  as  far  as  Williamsburg.  In  fact,  McClellan 
established  his  lines  on  the  Chickahominy,  within 
a  day's  march  of  Richmond,  with  very  small  loss, 
fighting  only  one  battle,  the  unimportant  battle  of 
Williamsburg,  in  securing  a  position  so  near  the  cap 
ital  of  the  Confederacy.  It  cost  General  Grant,  two 
years  later,  a  long  and  hard-fought  campaign,  with 
many  bloody  battles,  involving  the  loss  of  nearly 
one  hundred  thousand  men,  to  get  as  close  to  Rich 
mond  as  his  predecessor  had  done  with  only  trifling 
loss.  So  far,  surely,  the  strategic  honors  were  with 
McClellan,  and  had  he  been  given  in  1862  the  supreme 
authority  which  Grant  wielded  in  1864,  enabling  him 
to  summon  to  his  aid,  as  he  earnestly  wished  to  do, 
General  McDowell  with  his  forty  thousand  men  from 
Fredericksburg,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  army  of 

75 


76  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Lee  could  have  achieved  the  victory  it  did  in  those 
seven  days  battles  before  Richmond. 

Before  my  return  to  camp,  Gen.  Joseph  E.  John 
ston  had  transferred  the  bulk  of  his  army  to  the 
peninsula  to  contest  the  advance  of  McClellan;  Gen. 
T.  J.  Jackson  had  been  sent  to  the  valley,  and  the 
division  of  General  Ewell  was  left  on  the  old  line. 
Our  regiment  was  attached  to  his  command.  Manas- 
sas  had  been  evacuated.  Our  log  huts  at  Fairfax 
Station  had  been  left,  and  all  our  little  accumulations 
of  comfort  lost.  Our  tents  had  been  burned  at  Manas- 
sas,  for  what  reason  I  do  not  know,  and  I  found  the 
regiment  bivouacking  under  their  blankets  stretched 
over  poles  on  a  little  rocky  hill  back  of  the  Rappahan- 
nock.  My  precious  store  of  books  had  of  course 
been  left  behind  and  lost.  We  now  had  two  months 
of  marching  and  countermarching,  without  any  object 
that  we  could  divine,  under  conditions  of  more  acute 
discomfort  than  we  had  ever  known  before,  enlivened 
by  an  occasional  skirmish  or  artillery  duel.  The  fol 
lowing  sketch,  under  date  of  March  28th,  may  serve 
as  a  sample: 

"On  the  banks  of  the  Rappahannock.  The  bridge  is  on 
fire  at  both  ends  —  the  flames  of  a  house  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river  darting  fiercely  up  to  the  sky.  Our  regi 
ment  in  line  of  battle.  A  shell  has  just  passed  hissing  over 
our  heads.  The  bridge  blows  up  as  I  write  with  a  double 
explosion.  The  Yankees  are  shelling  the  woods  as  they 
advance.  Our  artillery  on  our  left  has  just  opened.  I 
suppose  we  intend  protecting  General  Steuart's  retreat.  It 
is  not  desired  to  fight  unless  the  Federals  press  us  hard.  — 
Another  shell.  —  Another  —  An  officer  rides  up  and  asks 
for  five  rounds  of  cartridges  from  each  man  of  our  regiment. 
He  has  but  fifteen  rounds  to  a  man.  We  have  forty.  — 


OPENING  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF   1862  77 

The  Baltimore  Light  Artillery  fires  its  first  shell.  This  is 
their  maiden  engagement.  The  Federal  infantry  advances 
toward  the  river;  they  are  saluted  by  the  Baltimore  Light 
Artillery  from  an  eminence  on  our  right.  The  enemy's 
artillery  changes  position.  As  yet  they  have  not  found 
our  range.  The  bridge  falls  in  with  a  rattle  like  the  dis 
charge  of  musketry,  or  the  rattling  of  wagons.  The  Balti 
more  Light  Artillery  are  firing  round  shot,  and  not  shell, 
as  I  supposed.  —  Infantry  firing  in  rapid  succession.  One 
of  our  companies  (Goldsborough's)  is  engaged,  deployed  as 
skirmishers.  Now  they  are  moving  double  quick  (still  as 
skirmishers)  by  the  left  flank.  The  Artillery  at  the  other 
side  has  slackened  its  fire.  —  Chesney  (Elzey's  adjutant- 
general)  dashes  past  at  full  speed  between  us  and  our 
skirmishers.  —  Musketry  again  from  skirmishers.  —  Another 
rattling  crash,  from  the  bridge,  I  suppose.  —  The  Federals 
discover  the  Baltimore  Light  Artillery  and  begin  to  open 
on  them.  They  reply,  and  it  seems  probable  we  shall 
have  a  brisk  artillery  duel.  They  seem  to  have  gotten  the 
range  of  our  battery.  .  .  .  Wagons  are  seen  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river.  It  may  be  an  armed  reconnoissance  in 
force  after  forage.  The  battery  on  our  right  has  limbered 
up,  and  is  moving  off.  A  shell  bursts  between  —  [Here  we 
were  called  to  attention  and  moved  off  a  mile  or  so  from 
the  river.  It  was  nearly  dusk.  The  enemy  shelled  us  as  we 
retreated  up  the  railroad,  but  without  doing  us  any  damage. 
General  Elzeyand  Captain  Brockenbrough  had  a  very  narrow 
escape:  a  shell  burst  just  between  them,  throwing  light  on 
their  faces.  The  Baltimore  Light  Artillery  did  good  practice, 
driving  the  enemy's  artillery  twice  from  their  position.  Our 
cavalry  next  day  crossed  the  river  and  found  two  (artillery) 
horses  dead,  and  that  several  cannon  balls  had  passed  through 
the  house  behind  which  the  enemy  took  refuge.] " 

On  Good  Friday,  April  18th,  we  had  another  artil 
lery  duel. 


78  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

The  weather  was  very  severe  through  March  and 
far  into  April  —  "much  rain  and  sometimes  sleet  or 
snow.  As  late  as  April  10th  the  ground  is  covered 
with  snow  frozen  and  the  air  is  very  keen.  The  moun 
tains  look  beautiful  in  their  white  garments."  March 
ing  and  bivouacking  without  tents  (which  were  not 
supplied  us  again  till  April  6th),  we  had  many  rough 
experiences,  often  drenched  to  the  skin,  and  as  the 
wood  was  wet  and  soggy,  sometimes  it  was  next  to 
impossible  to  light  a  fire.  A  favorite  device  was  to 
get  three  fence  rails  and  rest  them  at  one  end  on  the 
ground,  placing  the  other  end  on  the  third  rail  of  the 
fence,  the  middle  rail  depressed  below  those  on  either 
side.  This  made  a  bed  which  kept  us  out  of  the  mud, 
while  we  covered  with  our  blankets  and  made  out  to 
be  fairly  comfortable  —  only  the  knots  or  other  pro 
tuberances  of  the  rails  made  themselves  objectionable. 

In  one  of  those  " driving  sleets" 

"John  Post  and  I  constructed  a  bunk  together  with 
blankets  stretched  over  and  straw  to  lie  on.  We  were 
obliged  to  retreat  into  it  about  one  o'clock.  We  talked  as 
long  as  we  could  about  old  times  and  Monument  street  girls. 
He  read  me  an  extract  from  a  letter  from  R.  N.,  and  showed 
me  the  daguerreotype  of  a  mutual  friend.  Then  we  went 
to  sleep  and  would  not  have  waked  up  till  morning  but  for 
the  cold  and  rain  on  our  feet  and  the  water  which  gradually 
crept  under  us.  We  went  off  about  eleven  o'clock  from  a 
camp  where  the  mud  was  ankle  deep  to  a  warm  country 
house  (Mr.  Wise's)  just  above  Brandy  Station,  where  we 
stayed  till  next  day." 

Another  entry,  March  30th,  is  as  follows: 

"We  awoke  to  the  most  disagreeable  consciousness  that 
the  rain  of  the  day  preceding  was  unabated,  that  our  feet 


OPENING  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1862  79 

were  wet  and  cold,  that  the  straw  on  which  we  were  lying 
was  almost  saturated,  and  our  bodies  of  course  chilled  with 
the  wet  and  cold." 

The  Mr.  Wise  mentioned  above,  who  treated  us 
so  hospitably  (refusing  compensation),  used  to  keep 
the  Warm  Springs,  Va.,  and  knew  my  father  and 
grandfather.  It  was  Sunday,  and  Post  and  I  sang 
hymns  together.  Then  we  read  the  New  Testament 
and  wrote  letters  to  our  people  in  Baltimore. 

During  the  weeks  of  March  when  we  had  no  tents 
and  when  the  weather  was  so  inclement  and  our  expo 
sure  so  unusually  severe,  we  would  slip  off  to  some 
private  house  whenever  opportunity  offered  and  leave 
could  be  obtained,  and  sometimes  without  leave. 
Only  in  this  way,  I  think,  could  we  have  endured  the 
ordeal.  Often  our  only  meal  in  camp  was  a  piece 
of  hardtack  and  a  piece  of  bacon  toasted  on  a  forked 
stick.  And  when  at  length  the  tents  were  furnished, 
orders  were  issued  that  they  should  be  pitched  every 
night  and  struck  every  morning  early  —  evidently 
to  prevent  the  enemy  discovering  our  whereabouts. 

I  give  here  part  of  a  letter  written  to  my  mother 
on  my  twentieth  birthday: 

TUESDAY,  April  15,  1862. 

After  dinner.  —  The  regiment  has  gone  out  to  drill,  but 
I  am  excused  as  cook.  I  have  not  told  you  of  the  receipt 
of  three  letters  from  you  all  a  few  days  ago.  One  dated 
February  28th,  from  you  (in  which  I  am  glad  to  find  you 
so  cheerful,  my  precious  mother);  a  second  containing  one 
from  Telly  (Feb.  28),  one  from  Sister  Mary  (Nov.  8th!!!), 
and  a  third  from  Marge  written  on  the  4th  and  5th.  How 
exultantly  I  seated  myself  on  my  bunk  and,  strewing  my 


80  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

letters  around,  devoured  them  one  by  one,  over  and  over 
again.  I  gave  George  Williamson  your  message,  for  which 
he  thanks  you  warmly;  he  sends  kindest  regards  to  you  all. 
So  does  Jim  Howard.  Telly's  letter  amused  and  enter 
tained  me  greatly:  he  has  "broken  out"  in  so  many  new 
places,  I  shall  not  know  him  when  I  see  him.  Tell  him, 
however,  to  stay  where  he  is.  He  is  so  full  of  Shakespeare 
and  the  classics  that  he  will  despise  such  a  rough  soldier 
as  his  brother  has  gotten  to  be.  But  the  funniest  meta 
morphosis  in  the  boy  is  his  conversion  to  the  creed  of  Byron 
and  Cupid.  He  need  not  flatter  himself  that  he  can  cut 
me  out  in  Annapolis.  When  I  come  home  "from  the  wars," 
I  will  throw  him  in  the  shade  completely  by  my  "honorable 
wounds,"  "deeds  of  valor,"  etc.!  I  can't  thank  you  all 
enough  for  your  frequent  letters;  every  one  attests  the  spirit 
of  a  love  which  I  have  not  deserved  and  can  never  repay. 
There  was  one  for  Duncan  from  sister  Mary  too,  enclosed 
in  mine.  He  is,  you  know,  on  General  Trimble's  staff,  his 
aide-de-camp.  You  never  saw  such  a  change  in  a  man  in 
your  life.  When  he  returned  from  Richmond  with  his 
sunburnt  hair  cut  off,  his  beard  shaven,  except  mustache 
and  imperial  "staff"  boots  replacing  his  old  "regulations," 
and  his  dirty  uniform  exchanged  for  a  nice  new  suit,  it  was 
hard  to  recognize  him.  You  may  imagine  how  he  was 
changed  by  camp  life,  when  I  tell  you  that  Mr.  Rollings- 
worth  was  introduced  to  him  as  Captain  Jones,  talked  with 
him  some  time,  and  finally  left  him  to  go  in  search  of  his 
friend  Duncan  McKim,  who  he  learned  was  in  the  hotel. 
How  fortunate  he  is  to  be  with  Carvel,  Jim  L.,  Wm.  C. 
(Carvel's  brother-in-law),  and  on  General  Trimble's  staff. 
We  were  so  amused  at  an  incident  over  there  some  time  since 
before  Jim  and  Duncan  had  their  appointments.  Geo.  W., 
Duncan,  and  one  other  of  our  mess  took  dinner  at  the 
General's.  A  Colonel  Kirkland  from  Mississippi  (or  N.  C.) 
came  in;  after  our  boys  left  he  remarked  to  Carvel:  "Those 
men  are  very  well  educated  and  have  remarkably  good 


OPENING  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF   1862  81 

manners  for  privates."  I  have  been  enjoying  myself  lately 
in  visiting  about  in  the  neighborhood  (generally  in  quest 
of  meals).  One  day  I  got  lost  in  an  immense  forest  twelve 
miles  long;  it  was  a  sleety,  misty  day,  and  the  water  was  an 
inch  deep  all  the  way.  I  walked  from  eleven  to  three  before 
I  came  to  a  house;  then  I  went  in  to  dry  myself,  and  was 
invited  out  to  dinner;  returning  I  slept  at  another  house 
where  were  two  very  pretty  ladylike  girls;  we  talked  together 
some  time,  then  I  sang  " Maryland"  to  a  new  audience,  and 
took  my  departure,  though  the  old  white-haired  father 
asked  me  to  stay  all  night.  I  have  been  there  once  since, 
and  borrowed  a  volume  of  Mrs.  Hemans'  poems.  There 
is  a  beautiful  stanza  at  the  commencement  of  the  "  Forest 
Sanctuary,"  which  I  will  transcribe: 

"The  voices  of  my  home!     I  hear  them  still! 
They  have  been  with  me  through  the  dreamy  night  — 
The  blessed  household  voices,  wont  to  fill 
My  heart's  clear  depths  with  unalloyed  delight! 
I  hear  them  still,  unchanged :  —  though  some  from  earth 
Are  now  departed,  and  the  tones  of  mirth  — 
Wild,  silvery  tones  —  that  sang  through  days  more  bright, 
Have  died  in  others,  —  yet  to  me  they  come, 
Singing  of  boyhood  back  —  the  voices  of  my  home." 

The  poetry  was  certainly  not  of  a  very  high  order 
of  merit,  but  the  sentiment  waked  a  warm  response 
in  the  heart  of  the  exile  soldier  boy. 

On  the  evening  of  April  18th,  Good  Friday,  orders 
were  received  to  leave  our  camp  on  the  Rappahan- 
nock  and  take  up  the  line  of  march  for  Culpeper. 

This  is  my  entry  on  that  occasion: 

"We  started  at  dusk  after  standing  drawn  up  in  line  of 
battle  for  an  hour  and  a  half  in  a  furious  storm  of  rain.  We 
could  only  turn  our  backs  upon  it  and  take  it.  At  last, 


82  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

thoroughly  drenched,  we  set  out  (along  the  railroad  track), 
and  what  with  the  darkness  and  the  mud  and  the  culverts 
and  cow-catchers  we  had  a  most  miserable  march.  We 
would  move  three  or  four  steps  and  halt,  then  three  or  four 
more  and  halt  again  —  this,  from  dusk  till  two  o'clock  in 
the  night  when  we  reached  Culpeper,  —  six  miles  in  seven 
hours!  Then  laid  us  down  in  the  rain  and  slept  till  morning. 
No  rations  served  out!  Charlie  Grogan  and  I  were  most 
hospitably  entertained  by  a  Mrs.  Patterson  near  Culpeper. 
She  gave  us  also  ground  coffee  and  green  coffee,  and  offered 
us  sugar  and  salt."-  •" Marched  four  miles  on  the  road  to 
Madison  Court  House.  Halted  a  couple  of  hours.  Then 
marched  back  in  a  drenching  rain  over  muddy  roads  at 
almost  a  double  quick.  Still  no  rations.  Men  almost 
broken  down  with  the  weather  and  with  fasting.  Halted 
a  mile  above  Culpeper  for  the  night;  still  raining  hard. 
Ground  wet,  wood  soggy,  air  cold,  men  starved.  In  the 
morning  [it  was  Easter  Sunday]  set  out  again  up  the  rail 
road  in  a  cold,  driving  rain.  Redmond  and  I  walked  a 
mile  ahead  and  got  a  plain  breakfast  and  tried  to  dry 
ourselves.  Rejoined  the  regiment  and  marched  twelve  miles 
to  Rapidan.  Still  no  rations  furnished.  Stopped  at  Colonel 
Taliaferro's  to  see  Miss  Molly.  Had  an  elegant  dinner  — 
enjoyed  'civilization.'"  "Rode  up  from  Rapidan  to  Orange 
on  the  cars — five  miles;  got  in  ahead  of  the  regiment; 
stayed  at  a  private  house  on  the  outskirts  of  the  village, 
at  Mrs.  Bull's.  She  and  her  pretty  daughters  pleased  me 
much.  She  invited  me  to  stay  all  night,  which  I  did. 
After  I  got  into  bed,  the  door  opened  and  two  gentle 
men  came  in  with  a  candle.  I  started  up  and  asked  if  I 
had  made  a  mistake.  They  said  'No,'  and  soon  General 
Trimble  and  I  recognized  each  other."  "Monday,  April  21st, 
1862.  Rained  pitilessly  all  day.  The  regiment  rode  up 
to  Gordonsville  ten  or  twelve  miles  on  open  cars.  This 
is  one  of  the  severest  experiences  we  have  ever  had.  Friday 
evening,  Saturday,  Sunday,  and  Monday  exposed  constantly 


OPENING  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF   1862  83 

to  cold,  drenching  rain,  with  no  shelter,  and  during  two 
whole  days  without  anything  to  eat.  Our  blankets  and 
clothing  were  soaked  with  water:  we  marched  wet,  slept 
wet,  and  got  up  in  the  morning  wet.  On  the  evening  of 
Monday  we  got  tents  .  .  .  orders  to  march  in  the  morning 
with  two  days  cooked  provisions." 

These  quotations  (rather  tedious,  I  fear,  to  the 
reader)  show  several  things  very  clearly.  First,  the 
wretchedness  of  our  commissariat;  second,  the  hard 
ships  of  the  Confederate  infantrymen;  and  third,  the 
never-failing  hospitality  of  the  people  of  the  country, 
rich  and  poor  alike. 

What  a  debt  of  gratitude  we  poor  weary,  starved 
men  owed  them,  and  especially  the  women,  for  their 
goodness.  They  heartened  us  for  our  severe  work, 
and  inspired  us  with  fresh  resolve  to  defend  the  coun 
try  from  the  invaders.  How  one  would  like  to  express 
to  them  now  (to  such  as  may  be  still  living)  our  heart 
felt  thanks  for  what  they  did  for  us  eight  and  forty 
years  ago! 

In  the  light  of  a  narrative  like  this,  the  fortitude 
and  steadfast  devotion  of  the  Confederate  soldier 
stands  out  in  strong  light.  How  patiently  he  trudged 
along  those  muddy  roads,  carrying  musket  and  knap 
sack,  cold  and  wet  and  hungry  day  after  day  —  with 
out  murmuring,  without  ever  a  thought  of  giving  the 
thing  up,  without  regretting  his  act  in  leaving  home 
and  exiling  himself  for  the  Confederate  cause,  though 
his  State  had  not  seceded.  I  do  not  remember  that 
any  of  our  men  deserted  then,  or  at  any  time  during 
the  war.  Not  many  of  that  regiment  were  as  I  was; 
for  Virginia  was  a  second  home  to  me,  and  everywhere 
I  went  I  found  my  mother's  kin.  This  made  it  more 


84  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

natural  and  easier  for  me  to  stand  up  to  the  work 
and  stick  to  the  Cause. 

The  frequent  absences  from  the  regiment,  even 
over  night,  which  I  have  mentioned,  seem  to  show  a 
lack  of  the  strict  discipline  of  which  I  have  spoken 
on  a  previous  page  as  the  characteristic  of  Colonel 
Steuart.  But  I  think  that  about  this  time  he  was 
promoted  to  be  brigadier-general,  and  given  another 
command;  and  besides  two  things  are  to  be  considered: 
first,  that  under  such  circumstances,  discipline  was 
necessarily  and  wisely  relaxed,  and,  second,  that  our 
commanding  officer  knew  he  could  trust  us  to  report 
for  duty  in  any  emergency  that  might  arise.  Yet 
failure  to  perform  camp  duty,  or  absence  from  roll- 
call  would  bring  its  punishment.  Several  times  I 
mention  having  been  put  under  arrest  for  the  latter 
omission,  and  once  that  I  was  made  sergeant  of  the 
guard  for  the  night  because  of  my  absence  at  Orange 
Court  House. 

The  inclement  weather  of  that  unfriendly  spring 
continued  nearly  to  the  end  of  April.  As  late  as  the 
25th  we  had  snow,  and  about  the  same  time  my  record 
is,  "In  camp  we  have  no  shelter  and  it  is  almost  im 
possible  to  cook.  This  morning  it  is  again  raining 
hard."  And  again,  "Poor  Giraud  Wright  sat  up  all 
night  in  the  rain  over  the  fire,  and  is  now  sleeping 
with  his  head  resting  on  a  chair." 

Notwithstanding  the  cold,  whenever  the  sun  did 
come  out,  Redmond  and  I  would  plunge  into  the  chill 
waters  of  the  swift  Rapidan  and  have  a  swim.  Bath 
ing  was  a  rare  privilege,  and  so  much  valued  that  it 
was  my  habit  during  the  winter  at  one  of  our  camps 
to  break  the  ice  and  take  a  plunge  in  a  pool  of  water 


OPENING  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF   1862  85 

by  the  side  of  the  railroad.  Under  the  genial  sun  we 
would  soon  forget  our  miseries  and  enjoy  the  beauti 
ful  scenery  sometimes  spread  out  before  us  in  our 
marches.  Here  is  a  note  of  April  25th: 

"This  is  a  beautiful  country,  and  highly  cultivated. 
Tobacco  is  successfully  grown.  Farms  are  large.  Dwell 
ings,  all  the  way  from  Culpeper  to  Gordonsville  and  from 
Gordonsville  to  this  point  on  the  Rapidan,  are  large  and 
handsome.  .  .  .  The  spring  has  arrived  very  suddenly. 
Vegetation  has  sprung  as  it  were  from  death  to  vigorous  life 
without  the  usual  intermediate  stages.  Fruit  trees  are  all 
in  bloom  except  the  later  varieties.  Even  pear  trees  are 
beginning  to  blossom.  The  wheat  is  luxuriant  and  wears 
a  constant  and  fresh  verdure.  The  banks  of  the  river  just 
above  our  camp  are  enchanting.  The  river  flows  narrow, 
but  deep,  and  very  rapid.  The  banks,  from  which  the  water 
has  receded,  are  covered  with  the  wildest  and  rankest 
growth  of  weeds  and  flowers,  the  usual  denizens  of  marshy 
ground.  Running  along  parallel  to  the  right  bank  is  a  rocky 
cliff,  about  forty  or  fifty  feet  high.  It  is  covered  with  trees, 
some  of  them  growing  out  of  the  clefts  in  the  rocks,  and 
many  of  them  (wild  cherry,  dogwood,  etc.)  covered  with 
bloom.  Ferns  hang  gracefully  over  the  rocks,  while  the 
level  at  the  foot  is  completely  carpeted  with  moss;  from 
wild  flowers  of  every  variety  and  hue  spring  up." 

About  this  time  Giraud  Wright  was  made  second 
lieutenant  in  Doctor  Thorn's  company.  He  was  the 
eighth  member  of  our  mess  (No.  5)  who  had  received 
a  commission. 

I  have  alluded  to  the  fact  that  some  of  our  companies 
were  enlisted  for  only  twelve  months.  Well,  on  April 
29th,  an  order  came  from  General  Elzey  to  these 
companies  to  elect  their  officers  in  accordance  with 
the  terms  of  the  Conscript  Act.  Col.  Bradley  Johnson 


86  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

harangued  the  men  and  tried  to  induce  them  to  con 
form  to  the  order,  but  they  refused  to  elect  any  officers, 
holding  that  the  Conscript  Act  did  not  apply  to  Mary- 
landers.  The  number  of  the  men  who  had  reenlisted 
in  February  and  taken  the  furlough  was  not  large. 
This  was  not  because  their  interest  in  the  cause,  or 
their  loyalty,  had  cooled,  but  because  almost  every 
man  wanted  to  enter  some  other  branch  of  the  service, 
-the  cavalry,  for  instance,  or  the  artillery.  Col. 
Bradley  Johnson  was  much  chagrined  by  the  action 
of  the  men  just  mentioned,  and  when,  on  May  17th, 
Company  "C"  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  before 
the  rest  of  the  regiment,  and  marched  off  to  the  rear, 
he  called  out  dramatically,  as  he  pointed  in  the  oppo 
site  direction,  "Men  of  the  First  Maryland  Regiment, 
there  is  the  way  to  the  enemy." 

In  a  letter  written  about  this  time,  I  said,  "It  seems 
probable  we  will  miss  all  the  great  struggles  likely  to 
occur  before  this  month  is  out."  How  little  we  knew 
what  was  before  us! 

The  first  week  of  May  —  I  believe  it  was  May  2d  - 
we  left  Standardsville  and  marched  across  the  moun 
tain,  fifteen  miles,  and  camped  in  "Swift  Run  Gap," 
which  we  reached  about  nine  P.M.  Here  we  came  in 
touch  with  Stonewall  Jackson's  division.  That  astute 
and  able  commander,  in  order  to  deceive  the  enemy's 
scouts,  gave  orders  that  EwelPs  division  should  occupy 
the  camp  of  his  division,  which  marched  out  in  the 
dark,  leaving  its  camp-fires  burning,  so  that  it  should 
appear  that  Jackson  was  still  there.  Then  making  a 
forced  night  march,  he  was  many  miles  away  before 
the  morning  light,  marching  to  attack  Milroy,  west 
of  S  taunt  on,  and  leaving  Ewell  to  await  his  return. 


OPENING  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF   1862  87 

Now  began  that  campaign  of  Jackson  in  the  valley 
which  has  been  so  famous  ever  since  and  which  estab 
lished  his  reputation  forever  as  a  great  soldier  and  a 
brilliant  strategist.  But  of  this  more  later  on. 

While  Stonewall  was  marching  to  West  Virginia, 
beating  Milroy,  and  marching  back  again  —  which 
occupied  about  three  weeks  —  we  remained  in  camp 
at  Swift  Run  Gap  perhaps  two  weeks,  where  the  monot 
ony  was  varied  for  some  of  us  by  visits  to  the  refined 
and  hospitable  home  of  Doctor  Jennings,  whose  charm 
ing  daughters  greatly  attracted  us.  There  we  had 
music  and  song  and  bright  and  merry  converse,  which 
speedily  banished  the  memory  of  the  hardships  of 
the  past  two  months.  There  came  to  our  camp  here 
three  Frenchmen  whose  errand  and  whose  identity 
much  mystified  us.  One  of  them,  de  Beaumont, 
claimed  to  be  an  officer  in  the  Chasseurs  d'Afrique. 
They  were  suspected  of  being  spies,  but  we  had  no 
proof. 

May  16th  we  marched  seventeen  miles  (in  the 
rain,  of  course)  over  a  bad  road  and  camped  near 
Columbia  Bridge.  May  17th  marched  to  the  top  of  the 
mountain  as  if  Gordonsville  were  our  pbjective,  - 
"  beautiful  scenery,  delightful  atmosphere,  and  water 
bursting,  sparkling  and  cold,  from  the  rocks." 
Under  this  inspiration  and  without  any  emergency  that 
I  can  recall,  we  made  the  three  and  one-half  miles  in 
forty-five  minutes,  though  the  mountain  road  was 
steep.  We  were  in  the  habit  of  making  seven  miles 
in  two  hours,  but  that  day  we  beat  our  record. 

After  spending  Sunday  the  18th  on  top  of  the  moun 
tain  in  sight  of  Culpeper  and  Luray,  we  marched 
next  day  down  the  mountain  and  back  to  Columbia 


88  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Bridge,  a  distance  of  thirteen  miles.  The  weather 
was  very  warm.  As  soon  as  we  had  stacked  arms 
there  was  a  break  for  the  Shenandoah,  where  hundreds 
of  men  were  soon  to  be  seen  all  along  the  banks  stand 
ing  on  the  water's  edge  or  in  the  water,  washing  them 
selves  or  their  clothes.  The  river  was  in  flood,  and 
no  one  dared  to  attempt  to  swim  across,  till  Redmond, 
the  athlete  of  our  mess,  a  well-developed,  well-seasoned 
man  of  about  thirty  years  of  age,  plunged  in  and  struck 
out  for  the  opposite  shore.  He  was  watched  with 
breathless  interest  by  almost  the  entire  regiment, 
and  when  at  length  he  accomplished  the  feat,  and  stood 
safe  on  the  other  bank,  a  great  shout  went  up  from 
hundreds  of  throats.  Not  willing  to  be  outdone,  even 
by  Redmond,  I  also  made  the  plunge  and  tempted 
the  flood.  I  crossed  successfully,  losing  less  distance 
than  he,  and  stepped  out  on  the  shore  in  triumph, 
receiving,  as  he  had  received,  the  acclaim  of  the 
crowd.  But  unfortunately  I  was  seized  with  a  chill 
the  moment  after,  and  when  I  tried  to  swim  back,  my 
strength  left  me  after  a  few  strokes,  and  I  was  at  the 
mercy  of  the  current.  I  made  up  my  mind  that  my  end 
had  come  and  said  my  prayers  accordingly,  but,  the 
river  making  a  sharp  curve  just  there,  I  was  carried  by 
the  current  near  to  shore,  and  by  a  desperate  effort 
succeeded  in  making  a  landing. 

Two  other  misfortunes  awaited  me  before  that  day  was 
done.  I  found  myself  afflicted  as  the  Egyptians  were  on 
a  famous  occasion  (see  Exodus  viii.  16).  The  plague 
which  baffled  the  magicians,  and  of  which  they  con 
fessed  to  Pharaoh,  "This  is  the  finger  of  God/7  had  long 
since  visited  the  Confederate  camps,  but  till  that  unlucky 
day  I  had  been  exempt.  But  now  my  turn  had  come. 


OPENING  OF  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF   1862  89 

The  same  evening  I  yielded  to  temptation  and 
"  supped  at  the  hospitable  board  of  Mr.  Long,  where 
we  had  music  and  conversation."  The  result  is  thus 
tersely  stated  in  my  diary:  "Put  under  arrest  in 
consequence." 

The  first  of  these  occurrences  marks  an  experience 
which  was  the  very  acme  of  our  trials  borne  for  the 
cause.  No  hardship,  or  enforced  self-denial  of  food, 
or  rest,  or  comfort,  was  as  hard  to  bear.  It  brought 
a  sense  of  humiliation  that  is  difficult  to  describe, 
although  it  was  just  the  inevitable  consequence  of  the 
conditions  under  which  we  lived.  I  set  down  the 
unpleasant  fact  because  my  object  in  these  pages  is 
to  give  a  true  picture  of  the  life  we  led  as  private 
soldiers. 


CHAPTER  IX 

STONEWALL  JACKSON'S   VALLEY   CAMPAIGN 

ON  the  22d  of  May,  1862,  General  Jackson  returned 
from  his  successful  expedition  against  Milroy  and 
united  his  division  with  that  of  Ewell.  From  that  day 
the  First  Maryland  Regiment  was  under  "StonewalFs" 
immediate  command  and  marched  and  fought  under 
his  eye.  It  will  always  be  our  pride  and  boast  that 
we  had  an  active  part  in  that  marvellous  campaign 
of  his  in  the  valley  of  Virginia,  from  May  22d  to  June 
10th,  and  that  we  so  conducted  ourselves  as  to  win  his 
confidence  and  to  be  assigned  such  duty  as  could  only 
have  been  given  a  command  which  he  thoroughly 
trusted. 

Of  this  great  soldier  a  few  words  may  here  be  said. 
From  the  hour  when,  at  the  battle  of  Manassas, 
General  Bee  pointed  to  him  and  cried  to  his  wavering 
South  Carolinians,  "  There  stands  Jackson,  like  a 
stone  wall!"  the  rank  and  file  of  the  army  gave  him 
their  complete  confidence,  and  were  ready  to  follow 
wherever  he  led,  and  to  attempt  whatever  he  com 
manded.  Not  so  the  authorities  at  Richmond.  Not 
so  all  the  officers  of  high  rank  in  the  field.  Generals 
who  had  known  him  at  West  Point  and  remembered 
that  his  scholastic  rank  was  low,  and  that  only  by 
patient  plodding  could  he  keep  up  with  his  class, 
found  it  difficult  to  believe  that  Jackson  could  be  a 

90 


LIEUT.  GEN.  THOS.  J.  ("STONEWALL")  JACKSON 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN          91 

brilliant  soldier.  Those  also  who  had  known  him  as 
the  quiet  and  by  no  means  inspiring  professor  at  the 
Virginia  Military  Institute  felt  the  same  scepticism^ 
They  acknowledged  his  steadfast  courage  and  his/ 
unflinching  resolution.  Those  qualities  had  been  dis-j 
played  by  him  in  the  Mexican  War  at  Vera  Cruz,  Con-^ 
treras,  and  Chapultepec,1  and  now  again  at  Manassas 
and  at  Kernstown,  but  his  critics  said,  first,  that  he 
was  indeed  the  man  to  lead  a  forlorn  hope  into  the 
jaws  of  death,  but  had  not  capacity  to  command  a 
brigade;  and  when  he  had  disproved  this  in  battle, 
they  said  that  he  could  fight  a  brigade  under  the  eye 
of  a  capable  superior  officer,  but  could  never  fill  an 
independent  command,  which  required  strategy  and 
judgment.  It  will  be  remembered  that,  owing  to  the 
representations  of  General  Loring,  in  the  winter  of 
1861,  the  Richmond  authorities  so  hampered  and 
interfered  with  Jackson  that  he  wrote  his  resignation, 
resolving  to  enter  the  ranks  as  a  private  soldier,  and  that 
it  was  only  with  great  difficulty  he  was  induced  to 
withdraw  it.  The  prejudice  he  encountered  in  high 
quarters  was  such  that  at  each  step  forward  that  he 
made  toward  military  greatness  his  detractors  had 
fresh  objections  to  make  to  his  further  advancement. 
"He  might  do  to  command  a  brigade,  but  not  a  divi 
sion."  Next,  "Well,  he  had  done  pretty  well  as  a 
division  commander,  but  could  never  handle  an  army 
independently."  It  was  not  till  after  the  brilliant 
series  of  victories  which  he  won  in  the  valley  in  1862 

1  When  asked  after  the  close  of  the  Mexican  War  if  he  felt  no  trepi 
dation  when  so  many  were  falling  around  him  at  Chapultepec,  he  replied, 
"No,  the  only  anxiety  of  which  I  was  conscious  during  the  engagement 
was  a  fear  lest  I  should  not  meet  danger  enough  to  make  my  conduct 


92  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

that  the  voice  of  detraction  was  silenced.  And  even 
after  that  at  Malvern  Hill,  when  Jackson  ordered  a 
charge,  General  Whiting  was  heard  to  exclaim,  "  Great 
God!  Won't  some  ranking  officer  come,  and  save  us 
from  this  fool!"  He  came! 

All  the  while  the  soldiers  of  the  army  adored 
him.  His  appearance  at  any  part  of  the  line  al 
ways  and  instantly  roused  the  greatest  enthusiasm, 
and  wild  shouts  rent  the  air  as  long  as  he  was  in 
sight.  On  these  occasions  he  would  put  spurs  to 
his  horse  and  gallop  out  of  sight  as  soon  as  possible. 
This  popularity  was  the  more  remarkable  when  it  is 
remembered  that  he  was  very  stern,  very  silent,  very 
reserved,  and  by  no  means  an  ideal  leader  in  appear 
ance.  His  figure  was  bad,  his  riding  was  ungraceful 
(he  rode,  as  I  remember  him,  with  short  stirrups  and 
with  one  shoulder  higher  than  the  other),  and  his  uni 
form  usually  rusty,  with  scarce  anything  to  mark  him 
out  as  a  general.  He  never  made  a  speech  to  his  sol 
diers,  he  was  a  stern  disciplinarian,  exacting  implicit 
obedience  not  only  from  the  rank  and  file,  but  from  the 
brigadiers  and  major-generals.  Let  one  of  these  fail 
to  march  with  his  brigade  or  division  at  the  hour 
prescribed  in  Jackson's  orders,  and  he  might  expect 
to  be  put  under  arrest  with  no  more  ceremony  than  if 
he  had  been  a  second  lieutenant  or  a  sergeant  of  the 
guard.  And  then  the  men  knew  that  Stonewall  would 
march  them  hard,  and  fight  them  hard,  and  require 
the  greatest  sacrifices  of  them.  At  the  battle  of  Kerns- 
town  General  Garnett  held  his  position  until  his  brigade 
had  been  decimated  and  then,  overwhelmed  with  num 
bers,  retreated  without  Jackson's  order.  For  this 
Jackson  rebuked  him  and  put  him  under  arrest. 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN          93 

In  nearly  all  these  respects  he  was  a  contrast  to 
Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee,  who  was  elegant  in  person  and 
handsome  in  features,  a  superb  rider,  the  very  beau 
ideal  of  a  soldier,  urbane,  also,  and  gracious  in  manner, 
with  a  native  dignity  which  stamped  him  as  a  king 
of  men.  He  had  also  the  rare  gift  of  a  rich  and  melo 
dious  voice,  which  alone  would  have  marked  him  out 
in  any  company.  While  no  man,  not  even  Jackson, 
could  have  been  a  more  lion-hearted  and  aggressive 
fighter  than  Lee,  yet  he  lacked  the  other's  strictness 
and  severity  as  a  disciplinarian.  It  has  been  said  of 
him  that  he  was  too  epicene,  too  gentle,  and  indeed, 
if  he  had  a  fault  as  a  commander,  it  lay  in  that  direc 
tion.  There  were  occasions  when  more  of  Jackson's 
sternness  and  inflexibility  in  dealing  with  his  generals 
would  have  been  conducive  to  success  on  the  field  of 
battle. 

These  two  great  soldiers  were  types  respectively  of 
the  Puritan  and  the  Cavalier.  Jackson  was  a  Presby 
terian,  with  many  of  the  Puritan's  characteristics.  He 
was  Oliver  Cromwell,  without  his  selfish  ambition. 
Robert  E.  Lee,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a  devout  and 
loyal  son  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  a  Cavalier  in  bearing 
as  he  was  in  blood,  but  with  a  simplicity  and  purity 
of  character  that  was  certainly  not  characteristic  of 
King  Charles's  gallant  and  dashing  leaders.  But 
though  they  were  thus  men  of  very  different  types,  they 
completely  trusted  and  understood  one  another,  and 
formed  a  combination  that  was  well  nigh  irresistible. 
Lee  regarded  Jackson  as  his  right  arm,  while  it  is  on 
record  that  Jackson  said  of  Lee  that  he  was  the  only 
man  he  would  be  always  willing  to  follow  blindfolded. 

I  need  say  nothing  of  the  great  place  this  modest 


94  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

and  reticent  soldier,  Thomas  J.  Jackson,  made  for  him 
self  among  the  great  captains  of  history.  Distinguished 
military  critics  like  Lt.  Col.  G.  F.  R.  Henderson  (whose 
two  volumes  on  the  life  and  career  of  Stonewall  Jackson 
are  the  classic  on  the  subject)  have  said  all  that  need 
be  said  on  that  subject  —  and  said  it  with  authority. 
I  remember  hearing  General  Miles  (at  that  time  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  United  States  Army)  speak  of 
him  with  the  most  enthusiastic  admiration.  In  his 
estimation  Jackson  was  beyond  question  the  greatest 
soldier  developed  in  our  Civil  War.  His  name  was 
equivalent  in  value  to  a  corps  d'armee.  He  said  that 
in  the  Federal  Army  he  inspired  at  all  times  the  great- 
jest  apprehension.  "  We  never  knew  whether  he  would 
descend  upon  us  on  the  right  flank,  or  the  left,  or  out 
•of  the  clouds.  He  was  the  very  embodiment  of  the 
genius  of  war,  and,  had  he  lived,  in  my  opinion  the 
South  must  certainly  have  succeeded.  I  have  gone 
carefully  over  the  history  of  the  campaigns  that  fol 
lowed  his  death,  and  there  were  at  least  half  a  dozen 
critical  occasions  when,  in  my  opinion,  his  presence 
would  have  certainly  insured  victory  to  the  Confederate 
Army.7' 

I  give  this  utterance  of  General  Miles,  not  as  express 
ing  my  own  opinion  (which  of  course  is  of  no  conse 
quence  on  a  subject  demanding  the  knowledge  of  an 
expert  military  critic),  but  only  as  a  sample  of  the 
exalted  estimate  in  which  General  Jackson  is  held 
among  military  men.  What  I  think  most  extraor 
dinary  is,  that  this  plain  soldier  wrote  his  name  so 
high  on  the  roll  of  the  great  soldiers  of  the  world's 
history  in  so  short  a  time.  It  was  less  than  two  years 
between  his  first  battle,  that  of  Manassas,  July  21st, 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN          9\ 

1861,  and  his  last  immortal  victory  at  Chancellors  vill6 
on  the  3d  of  May,  1863.  Indeed  it  might  be  said  that 
he  carved  his  great  fame  in  one  short  twelvemonth,  - 
for  the  battles  that  have  made  his  name  immortal 
were  all  fought  between  May  25th,  1862,  and  May  3d, 
1863. 

I  will  only  add  that  unquestionably  one  of  the  feat 
ures  of  Jackson's  character  which  commanded  the 
confidence  of  the  soldiers  was  his  sincere  piety  and  his 
strong  faith.  The  men  of  that  army  believed  in  God, 
and  they  liked  to  feel  that  the  leader  whom  they  fol 
lowed  was  a  man  of  God  and  a  man  of  prayer. 

There  are  many  anecdotes  that  might  be  told  in 
illustration  of  "  Stonewall's  "  devout  religiousness,  but 
they  are  probably  familiar  to  most  of  those  who  will 
read  these  pages. 

He  was  a  man  of  prayer,  and  often  while  his  soldiers 
slept,  this  devout  soldier  was  pouring  out  his  soul  in 
supplication, 

"Appealing  for  his  native  sod, 
In  forma  pauperis  to  God; 
'  Lay  bare  thine  arm  —  stretch  forth  thy  rod, 
Amen.'    That's  Stonewall's  way." 

After  his  death  one  of  his  grim  veterans  said  the  Lord 
sent  his  angels  to  escort  " Stonewall"  to  heaven,  but 
they  could  not  find  him  anywhere  in  the  precincts  of 
the  camp.  So  they  returned  to  the  heavenly  courts 
to  make  report  to  that  effect,  when  to  their  astonish 
ment  there  he  was.  "Old  Jack"  had  outflanked  the 
angels  and  got  to  heaven  before  them! 

It  was  on  the  22d  of  May  that  Jackson  united  his 
two  divisions  near  Luray  and  began  his  movement 


96  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

against  Banks.     The  following  is  the  entry  in  my 
diary: 

"Marched  through  to  Luray  in  fine  spirits  to  the  music  of 
our  ' sullen  drums/  and  in  the  light  of  'brightest  eyes  were 
ever  seen/  Made  about  seventeen  miles  on  the  road  to 
Front  Royal.  General  Jackson  with  his  army  joined  us 
and  created  great  enthusiasm.  Next  morning  (23d)  army 
commenced  moving  at  daybreak.  Swell's  and  Johnson's 
divisions  passed  us,  while  we  halted.  Orders  came  for  the 
Maryland  regiment  (our  own)  to  take  the  advance.  We 
passed  the  two  divisions  without  making  a  halt,  marching 
twelve  miles  on  a  stretch,  seven  of  which  we  made  in  two 
hours.  Great  enthusiasm  as  we  passed  through  the  army 
at  our  rapid,  swinging  Zouave  step,  singing  l  Baltimore, 
ain't  you  happy? '  Bradley  Johnson  made  a  stirring  appeal 
to  some  of  Smith's  men  who  had  refused  to  do  duty  [because 
their  term  of  enlistment  had  expired]:  they  took  up  their 
arms  again.  Halted  some  four  or  five  miles  outside  of 
Front  Royal  to  rest.  Then  we  advanced  rapidly,  capturing 
the  enemy's  picket  as  we  went.  The  Maryland  regiment 
(ours)  was  formed  in  line  of  battle  and  burst  suddenly  into 
the  town,  driving  the  whole  Federal  force  out  at  the  other 
end.  Women  and  children,  wild  with  delight  and  grati 
tude,  some  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  welcomed  us  as  their 
deliverers.  I  never  felt  the  bliss  of  aiding  my  fellow  men 
so  much  as  then.  Fought  several  hours  outside  the  town 
with  the  First  Maryland  (Union)  Regiment.  Repulsed 
them.  Captured  immense  stores  and  1400  prisoners.  Saved 
the  bridge  and  several  railway  trains.  That  night  the  First 
Maryland  'Rebels'  stood  guard  over  the  First  Maryland 
'Loyals.'  Next  morning  we  carried  them  in  triumph  into 
Front  Royal,  the  scene  of  their  former  domination." 

While  the  bullets  were  whistling  through  the  streets 
of  the  little  town,  a  lovely  girl  of  about  fifteen  years 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN          97 

ran  out  of  one  of  the  houses  and,  waving  a  Confederate 
flag,  cried,  "Go  it,  boys!  Maryland  whip  Maryland !" 
She  was  much  excited  and  seemed  unconscious  of  her 
danger. 

General  Jackson's  order  that  our  regiment  should 
take  the  front  and  make  the  assault  on  the  town  was 
due  to  the  discovery  that  it  was  occupied  by  the  First 
Maryland  Federal  Regiment.  He  thus  put  us  on  our 
mettle  to  show  which  were  the  best  men  and  the  truest 
representatives  of  Maryland.  It  must  be  acknowl 
edged  that  the  "loyal"  Mary  landers  were  made  of 
good  stuff.  They  put  up  a  gallant  fight  and  when,  on 
their  defeat,  they  were  pursued  by  our  cavalry,  they 
would  form  in  small  squares  and  fight  to  the  death. 
My  record  says  "only  a  score  or  two  escaped." 

Allusion  is  made  above  to  our  singing  as  we  marched. 
That  we  often  did,  and  with  fine  effect  —  upon  our 
spirits!  I  have  seen  our  men  weary  with  a  long  march, 
and  dragging  along  without  any  semblance  of  order, 
fall  into  line  and  march  with  cadenced  step,  almost 
forgetting  their  fatigue,  when  some  one  would  start 
one  of  our  familiar  songs  and  the  whole  column  would 
instantly  take  it  up. 

Neither  words  nor  tune  had  any  merit,  but  there 
was  rhythm  in  it,  at  least,  which  appealed  to  the  ear 
and  helped  the  step.     One  of  our  favorites  was : 
"Baltimore,  ain't  you  happy, 
We'll  anchor  by  and  by; 
Baltimore,  ain't  you  happy, 

We'll  anchor  by  and  by. 
We'll  stand  the  storm,  it  won't  be  long, 
We'll  anchor  by  and  by." 

The  verses  were  all  identical,  except  that  the  apos- 


98  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

trophe  was  different.  " Maryland"  was  invited  to 
be  " happy,"  and  "old  soldiers"  likewise,  and  "South 
erners"  and  "Confederates,"  etc. 

Still  another  prime  favorite  was  "Gay  and  Happy." 
the  chorus  of  which  ran: 

"  So  let  the  wide  world  wag  as  it  will, 

We'll  be  gay  and  happy  still; 
Gay  and  happy,  gay  and  happy, 
We'll  be  gay  and  happy  still." 

This  resolve  to  be  "gay  and  happy"  might  be  con 
sidered  heroic  under  the  conditions  that  often  environed 
us.  But  sung  by  a  ragged  regiment,  marching  through 
rain  and  mud,  with  weary  limbs  and  empty  stomachs, 
the  element  of  the  ludicrous  was  often  more  conspicu 
ous  than  the  heroic. 

Another  favorite  ran  thus: 

"As  I  was  going  to  Derby, 
'Twas  on  a  market  day, 
I  saw  the  biggest  ram,  sir, 
That  ever  was  fed  upon  hay. 
The  wool  upon  his  back,  sir, 
It  grew  full  two  yards  high, 
And  the  horns  upon  his  head,  sir, 
They  reached  up  to  the  sky." 

Chorus:  "Oh,  what  a  lie!  Oh,  what  a  lie!" 

The  verses  that  followed  were  of  the  same  high  order 
of  poetical  merit!  They  were  always  sung  by  a  little 
fellow  who  had  a  high  tenor  voice  and  the  chorus  was 
then  sung  by  the  rest  of  the  regiment.  The  effect  of 
several  hundred  voices  roaring  out,  "Oh,  what  a  lie! 
Oh,  what  a  lie!"  was  very  grotesque  and  amusing. 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN          99 

The  fact  is  we  were  soldier  boys,  and  sometimes  the 
"boy"  was  more  in  evidence  than  the  "soldier."  In 
camp  we  had  a  more  varied  repertoire  of  songs,  such 
as  " Maryland,  my  Maryland,"  "The  Bonnie  Blue 
Flag,"  "There's  Life  in  the  Old  Land  Yet,"  — and  of 
course,  "  Dixie."  We  had  also  some  of  our  college 
songs  on  occasion.  A  Richmond  gentleman  added  the 
following  verses  to  Mr.  Randall's  "Maryland": 

"  Cheer  up,  brave  sons  of  noble  sires, 
Of  Maryland,  my  Maryland! 

Strike  for  your  altars  and  your  fires, 
Maryland,  brave  Maryland! 

The  tyrant's  power  must  soon  grow  less, 

Virginia  feels  for  thy  distress, 

Thy  wrongs  she  surely  will  redress, 
Maryland,  brave  Maryland! 

"When  the  despot's  power  is  flown, 

From  Maryland,  dear  Maryland; 
And  liberty's  regained  her  throne, 
In  Maryland,  old  Maryland; 
Then  shall  her  sons  once  more  be  free, 
Her  daughters  sing  of  Liberty, 
And  close  united  ever  be 

Virginia  and  Maryland. 

I  may  here  transcribe  some  verses  that  appeared  in 
the  Baltimore  South: 

"What  will  they  say  down  South, 

When  the  story  there  is  told, 
Of  deeds  of  might,  for  Southern  right, 

Done  by  the  brave  and  bold? 
Of  Lincoln,  proud  in  springtime, 


100  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Humbled  ere  summer's  sun? 
They'll  say,  '  'Twas  like  our  noble  South, 
They'll  say,  "Twas  bravely  done.' 

"  What  will  they  say  down  South, 

When  hushed  in  awe  and  dread, 
Fond  hearts,  through  all  our  happy  homes, 

Think  of  the  mighty  dead? 
And  muse  in  speechless  agony 

O'er  father,  brother,  son? 
They'll  say  in  our  dear  gallant  South, 

' God's  holy  will  be  done!' 

"  What  will  they  say  down  South, 

The  matron  and  the  maid, 
When  withered,  widow'd  hearts  have  found 

The  price  that  each  has  paid, 
The  gladness  that  their  homes  have  lost 

For  all  the  glory  won? 
They'll  say  in  our  dear,  noble  South, 

' God's  holy  will  be  done!' 

'What  will  they  say  down  South? 

Our  names  both  night  and  day 
Are  in  their  hearts,  and  on  their  lips, 

When  they  laugh,  or  weep,  or  pray. 
They  watch  on  earth,  they  plead  with  Heaven, 

Then  foremost  to  the  fight! 
Who  droops  or  fears  when  Davis  cheers, 

And  God  defends  the  right!" 

After  the  fight  at  Front  Royal  referred  to  above,  the 
army  moved  on  Winchester  in  two  columns,  Jackson  by 
Strasburg,  Ewell  by  the  straight  road  from  Front  Royal. 
Our  regiment  made  twenty-two  miles  that  day,  with 
only  dry  crackers  (nothing  else)  for  rations.  We 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN        101 

seem  to  have  left  our  blankets  behind,  that  we  might 
march  the  faster,  so  that  when  night  came  we  "  couldn't 
sleep/7  -  it  was  so  cold  without  them.  This  was  on 
Saturday,  May  24th.  Of  the  next  day,  Sunday,  the 
25th,  I  shall  always  have  a  vivid  remembrance.  It 
was  my  first  battle  at  Winchester.  By  three  A.M.  we 
were  in  line  of  march,  five  miles  from  Winchester: 

"As  the  sun  rose,  the  Sabbath  stillness  was  broken  by 
General  Jackson's  artillery  on  our  left.  Then  the  battle 
commenced  along  the  whole  line.  We  pressed  on  through 
the  smoke  and  mist  till  we  were  nearly  in  the  town." 

For  some  time  we  could  not  see  friend  or  foe,  but 
through  the  fog  we  could  hear  the  orders  of  the  Fed 
eral  officers  to  their  men.  Well,  after  three  or  four 
hours  heavy  fighting  the  enemy  yielded  before  the 
charge  of  the  Louisiana  Brigade,  and  the  whole  line 
dashed  forward,  entering  the  town  by  8.30  A.M.  "For 
the  first  time  in  the  valley,  'the  Rebel  yell,'  that  strange 
fierce  cry  which  heralded  the  Southern  charge,  rang 
high  above  the  storm  of  battle." 

I  would  like  to  pay  a  passing  tribute  to  that  fine 
soldier  and  gallant  gentleman,  Gen.  Dick  Taylor,  who 
commanded  the  Louisiana  Brigade.  Enough  to  say 
that  he  speedily  won  the  confidence  of  Jackson  as  a 
resolute  and  skilful  commander,  —  though  when  he 
heard  him  utter  an  oath  he  said,  "I'm  afraid  you  are 
a  wicked  fellow."  His  conduct  and  that  of  his  splen 
did  brigade  on  this  occasion  elicited  universal  admira 
tion.  Ewell  cheered  himself  hoarse  as  he  witnessed 
their  charge.  It  was  in  truth  a  gallant  feat  of  arms. 

Strange  sights  were  seen  in  those  two  days  of  fighting 
before  Winchester,  —  Federal  cavalrymen  strapped 


102  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

to  their  saddles,  so  that  when  made  prisoners  and 
ordered  to  dismount  they  couldn't  obey  till  time  was 
given  them  to  unstrap  themselves,  —  and  soldiers 
equipped  with  breastplates  to  protect  them  from  the 
musket  balls! 

In  the  rush  into  Winchester  that  morning  of  May 
25th  I  suffered  a  serious  loss  —  serious  in  my  eyes,  at 
least,  at  the  time. 

At  Front  Royal  I  had  filled  my  haversack  with  "good 
things"  from  the  captured  stores;  and  during  our 
rush  at  double  quick  into  the  town,  the  strap  broke, 
and  away  went  all  the  rich  stores  it  contained!  I 
groaned  in  spirit  that  I  could  not  stop  to  recover  that 
precious  haversack. 

My  diary  proceeds: 

"We  were  received  with  the  most  enthusiastic  demon 
strations  of  joy  by  the  inhabitants,  who  thronged  the  streets 
regardless  of  the  death-shots  flying  around  them.  Our 
timely  arrival  saved  the  city  from  being  blown  up.  The 
storehouse  was  on  fire  at  one  end.  The  retreating  miscreants 
took  delight  in  telling  the  women  and  children  they  would  be 
blown  up.  We  saved  the  medical  stores  too.  Colonel  Dorsey 
behaved  with  gallantry  and  was  wounded.  I  found  him 
at  Mrs.  Hugh  Lee's.  I  was  detailed  to  take  care  of  him  and 
stayed  till  the  Wednesday  afternoon  following,  revelling  in 
the  enjoyment  of  ladies'  society  in  particular  and  civilized 
life  in  general." 

That  was  a  joyous  breakfast  table  that  Sunday 
morning  at  Mrs.  Lee's.  The  battle  was  over.  We 
were  all  " heroes"  and  " deliverers"  in  the  eyes  of  the 
charming  women  of  the  family,  and  all  was  proceeding 
gayly  till  the  entrance  of  my  friend  Berkeley  Minor 
brought  me  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  Robert  Breck- 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN        103 

inridge  McKim,  my  young  cousin,  who  had  joined  the 
Rockbridge  Artillery  near  this  very  town  less  than 
eleven  months  before.  He  fell  gallantly  serving  his 
piece  in  the  battle.  It  was  a  painful  shock  to  me,  for 
I  was  warmly  attached  to  the  noble  boy.  Procuring 
a  horse,  I  rode  out  to  the  field  and  found  him  laid  out 
in  a  barn,  with  a  label  attached,  on  which  was  his 
name.  The  minie-ball  had  pierced  his  head  just  above 
the  forehead,  leaving  the  face  undisfigured.  His 
features  wore  a  peaceful  expression,  and  I  believe  his 
soul  was  at  peace  with  God  in  the  better  world.  How 
joyous  he  used  to  be  and  how  well  he  sang  our  college 
songs,  "Lauriger  Horatius,"  "The  Irishman's  Shanty," 
etc. 

I  remember  once,  at  a  Sunday  afternoon  students' 
prayer  meeting,  Bob  was  called  on  to  pray,  and  promptly 
answered  in  the  phrase  we  used  in  the  lecture  room 
when  the  lesson  had  not  been  studied  —  "unprepared!" 
To  this  call  to  meet  his  Maker  in  the  storm  of  battle, 
dear  Bob  had  no  need  to  make  that  answer.  He  was  gay 
and  joyous,  but  true  and  good,  and  he  had  given  him 
self  to  Christ.  This  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  checkered 
life  we  led.  Joy  and  sorrow  were  strangely  mixed. 
Whenever  possible,  we  were  "gay  and  happy,"  as 
one  of  our  favorite  marching  songs  had  it.  The  dear 
women  of  the  South,  young  and  old,  always  met  us 
with  smiles,  and  did  everything  to  cheer  our  hearts, 
even  when  their  own  were  sore  and  sad  for  some  loved 
one  who  had  fallen.  As  the  war  went  on  and  became 
more  and  more  bloody,  there  were  few  families  which 
did  not  mourn  a  father,  or  a  husband,  or  a  brother 
who  had  fallen  in  battle.  The  valley  of  Virginia  was 
for  four  years  a  constant  battle  ground.  Up  and  down, 


104  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

all  the  way  from  Staunton  to  Shepherdstown,  the  two 
armies  swept,  till  at  the  end  it  was  reduced  to  a  scene 
of  desolation.  I  myself  participated  in  five  battles 
at  or  near  Winchester,  and  it  is  said  the  town  changed 
hands  more  than  eighty  times  during  the  war.  To 
Winchester  I  had  come  with  the  University  companies 
en  route  to  Harper's  Ferry,  in  April,  1861.  To  Win 
chester  again  Robert  and  I  had  come  in  July,  1861, 
to  join  Johnston's  army.  At  Winchester  now  Robert 
had  yielded  up  his  life.  At  Winchester  and  at  Steven 
son's  Depot  I  was  to  see  severe  fighting  in  June,  1863. 
Near  Winchester  again  I  was  to  be  in  the  fatal  battle 
of  September,  1864,  and  at  Cedar  Creek  the  following 
October  I  was  to  see  Gordon's  victory  turned  into 
defeat  by  General  Early's  mistakes,  —  at  least,  that  is 
my  opinion. 

Its  people  were  devotedly  loyal  to  the  Confed 
eracy,  and  my  heart  warms  to-day  to  the  dear  old 
town,  as  I  think  what  a  warm  welcome  it  always 
gave  us. 

In  this  battle  General  Jackson,  by  his  brilliant  strat 
egy,  ably  seconded  by  the  blindness  and  the  blunders 
of  the  Federal  commander,  General  Banks,  had  suc 
ceeded  in  attacking  the  army  at  Winchester  with  a 
force  double  its  numbers.  He  led  a  force  of  17,000 
men,  infantry,  artillery,  and  cavalry.  Three  or  four 
weeks  before  this  disaster,  General  Banks  had  written 
to  Mr.  Stanton  expressing  regret  that  he  was  "not  to 
be  included  in  active  operations  during  the  summer." 
On  that  25th  of  May,  the  Confederate  commander 
relieved  him  of  that  regret  in  very  rude  but  effective 
fashion. 

This  unexpected  blow  delivered  at  Winchester  by 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN        105 

Jackson  reverberated  with  telling  effect  through  the 
whole  North.  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  cabinet  were 
alarmed  for  the  safety  of  the  Capital.  Stanton  wrote 
the  governor  of  Massachusetts:  " There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  enemy  in  great  force  are  marching  on  Wash 
ington.  "  General  McDowell,  who  was  just  starting  to 
reinforce  McClellan,  was  stopped,  and  his  40,000  men 
cancelled  from  the  advance  on  Richmond.  Fremont 
was  ordered  to  support  Banks.  Even  McClellan 
was  ordered  either  to  attack  Richmond  at  once,  or 
come  to  the  defence  of  Washington.  Such  was  the 
alarm  that  in  one  day  nearly  500,000  men  volunteered 
to  save  the  Union. 

Thus  this  great  soldier  had  in  a  single  engagement 
transformed  the  whole  military  situation  in  Virginia, 
-  and  the  cause  of  the  South,  till  then  shrouded  in 
gloom,  had  suddenly  been  irradiated  with  hope.  By 
an  unfortunate  and  almost  inexcusable  refusal  to  obey 
an  order  of  Jackson  because  it  did  not  come  through 
Ewell,  the  pursuit  of  Banks's  defeated  army  by  our 
cavalry  was  delayed  until  the  splendid  opportunity 
was  lost.  Three  days  later  part  of  the  army  advanced 
as  far  as  Halltown,  and  the  Stonewall  Brigade,  with 
our  regiment  and  a  battery  of  artillery,  was  pushed  for 
ward  to  Bolivar  Heights,  which  was  within  range  of 
Harper's  Ferry.  There  we  had  some  fighting  —  chiefly 
a  duel  of  artillery — but  the  only  man  I  remember  seeing 
injured  was  an  artilleryman  who  was  shot  in  the  thigh 
by  a  rifle  ball  at  a  distance  of  approximately  900  yards. 
That  was  looked  upon  as  a  remarkable  achievement 
at  that  period  in  the  history  of  war.  How  different  it 
is  to-day!  I  also  recall  that  the  wound  was  a  horrible 
one  —  the  flesh  was  dreadfully  torn  and  lacerated. 


106  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

The  enemy  had  resorted  to  the  reprehensible  practice 
of  using  explosive  bullets. 

While  this  was  going  on  the  Federal  generals 
were  laying  their  plans  to  cut  off  the  retreat  of 
General  Jackson,  and  "bag"  him  and  his  whole 
army.  Four  armies  were  set  in  motion  from  differ 
ent  directions  against  him  —  that  of  General  Shields, 
detached  from  McDowell's  army  at  Fredericksburg, 
10,000  men;  another  force  of  10,000  under  General 
Ord;  Fremont  coming  from  the  west  with  15,000  men; 
besides  15,000  more  under  Banks  and  Saxton,  moving 
south  from  the  Potomac,  —  in  all  50,000  men  against 
Jackson's  15,000.  I  recall,  while  at  Bolivar  Heights, 
seeing  a  courier  ride  up  in  haste  and  hand  General 
Jackson  a  despatch,  and  I  noted  his  face  and  manner 
when  he  read  it.  He  gave  quick  orders  to  a  member 
of  his  staff  and  then,  putting  spurs  to  his  horse,  dashed 
off  in  the  direction  of  Winchester.  The  information 
he  had  received  was  that  Shields  and  Fremont  were 
marching  upon  his  rear  to  cut  his  communications  and 
intercept  his  retreat.  The  bulk  of  Jackson's  army  was 
not  far  east  of  Winchester,  which  is  about  thirty  miles 
west  of  Bolivar  Heights.  As  soon  as  orders  could 
reach  them,  these  troops  were  put  in  motion  up  the 
valley  towards  Strasburg,  which  lies  at  the  foot  of  the 
Massanutten  Mountain. 

Thus  there  was  a  gap  of  thirty  miles  between  us  and 
the  rest  of  the  army,  and  when  we  began  our  retreat 
at  daybreak  next  morning,  our  officers  realized  that 
we  were  in  grave  danger  of  being  cut  off  and  captured. 
All  day  long,  through  the  rain  and  mud,  we  trudged 
on,  till  at  dark  we  reached  Winchester;  but  we  did  not 
tarry  here,  but  pushed  on  with  weary  limbs  till  we 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN        107 

passed  Newtown,  having  marched,  with  musket  and 
knapsack,  forty  miles  between  dawn  and  nine  or  ten 
o'clock  at  night.  We  lay  down  to  rest  by  the  road 
side  just  as  we  were,  making  no  camp,  lighting  no  fires, 
too  much  exhausted  to  care  for  anything  except  rest. 
I  may  here  remark  that  the  constant  marching  in  this 
campaign,  day  after  day  and  week  after  week,  so  hard 
ened  our  muscles  that  when  fatigue  came  there  was 
no  soreness  or  stiffness  of  the  muscles,  but  just  a  gen 
eral  exhaustion  —  a  " caving  in"  of  the  energies. 

By  early  dawn  we  were  again  on  the  march,  with 
rather  depleted  ranks,  for  not  a  few  of  the  men  had 
dropped  by  the  way,  unable  to  keep  up  the  pace.  It 
was  Sunday  morning  —  one  week  after  our  victory 
at  Winchester  —  and  now  it  looked  as  if  our  turn  for 
defeat  had  arrived  —  or  rather  for  defeat  and  capture 
-  for  what  could  our  one  brigade  do  against  the  Fed 
eral  army  that  might  be  already  interposing  itself 
between  General  Jackson  and  us?  It  was  a  silent  and 
a  gloomy  column  that  trudged  along  the  turnpike 
that  morning.  Officers  and  men  were  silent  as  the 
grave,  —  occupied  all  with  the  same  gloomy  appre 
hensions.  I  fancied  that  even  the  gallant  and  intrepid 
General  Winder  (who  commanded  the  Stonewall  Bri 
gade,  to  which  we  were  temporarily  attached)  looked 
chagrined  and  gloomy.  Not  a  few  of  us,  I  imagine,  offi 
cers  as  well  as  men,  were  secretly  indulging  in  criticism 
of  General  Jackson  for  allowing  us  to  be  isolated  as  we 
had  been,  thirty  miles  in  advance  of  the  army.  These 
anxieties  came  to  a  climax  when,  about  eight  o'clock, 
we  heard  the  booming  of  artillery  ahead  of  us.  The 
men  exchanged  glances,  but  no  one  spoke  a  word, 
though  the  same  thought  was  in  every  mind,  "We  are 


108  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

cut  off  now  —  it  is  all  up  with  us."  But  not  so!  The 
guns  we  heard  were  Jackson's  guns.  He  did  not  wait 
for  Fremont  to  reach  the  valley  pike,  but  advanced  a 
part  of  his  army  several  miles  to  meet  him,  threw 
out  skirmishers,  placed  artillery  in  position,  and 
opened  upon  the  advancing  Federals.  In  this  way  he 
held  Fremont  several  hours  till  Winder  and  his  bri 
gade  had  time  to  make  a  junction  with  the  rest  of  the 
army  at  Strasburg.  How  different  our  feelings  then! 
Our  spirits  rose;  we  forgot  our  fatigue  and  were  ready 
to  sing 

"  Baltimore,  ain't  you  happy?" 

What  the  men  said  to  each  other  then  was  of  a  differ 
ent  complexion,  —  "Old  Jack  knows  what  he's  about! 
He'll  take  care  of  us,  you  bet!'7  From  that  hour  we 
never  doubted  him. 

And  now  began  the  retreat  of  our  army  up  the  val 
ley,  vigorously  pursued  by  the  Federal  army  under 
General  Fremont.  On  our  left  ran  the  Massanutten 
mountain,  and  on  the  other  side  of  that  great  barrier 
was  General  Shields  with  his  army  of  10,000  men. 
Could  these  two  armies  unite,  they  would  overwhelm 
us  by  superior  numbers;  but  General  Jackson  did  not 
intend  that  they  should  unite.  It  was  his  purpose  to 
fight  them  separately,  and  having  beaten  one,  then  to 
throw  himself  upon  the  other.  Meanwhile,  our  Mary 
land  regiment  was  given  by  Jackson  the  post  of  rear 
guard,  —  an  honor  which  we  highly  appreciated  and 
were  determined  to  show  that  we  deserved.  For  a 
week  this  retreat  continued,  and  we  were  under  fire 
every  day  and  nearly  all  day.  We  would  be  deployed 
as  skirmishers  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check  while  the 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN        109 

wagons  and  the  ammunition  train  pursued  its  slow 
and  tortuous  course.  A  battery  of  our  artillery  co 
operated  with  us  in  protecting  the  retreat  of  the  army, 
saluting  the  Federals  with  shot  and  shell  as  they 
advanced  —  then  limbering  up  and  galloping  off  to 
a  new  position,  while  our  skirmish  line  slowly  with 
drew,  taking  advantage  of  every  little  hillock,  or  clump 
of  trees,  or  outcropping  of  rocks,  to  stop  and  fire  upon 
the  pursuing  cavalry.  This  operation  was  constantly 
repeated  during  the  day,  and  day  after  day.  It  was 
exciting  and  perilous  and  fatiguing  work,  but  I  think 
we  did  the  business  to  "old  Jack's"  satisfaction.  Now 
and  then  a  cavalry  dash  would  be  made  and  the  enemy 
would  win  some  small  advantage,  but  the  trains  were 
protected,  and  the  army  moved  with  due  deliberation 
up  from  Strasburg  to  Harrisburg. 

Three  miles  beyond  that  place  a  severe  engagement 
took  place,  in  which  the  First  Maryland  took  part, 
encountering  and  beating  the  gallant  Pennsylvania 
" Buck-tail"  rifle  regiment.  Among  those  who  fell 
on  our  side  was  Turner  Ashby  —  a  great  loss,  for  he 
was  one  of  the  most  daring  and  skilful  cavalry  leaders. 
Jackson  mourned  his  loss  as  irreparable.  His  daring 
feats  of  arms  on  his  famous  white  charger  had  become 
the  theme  of  song  and  story.  In  his  report,  Stonewall 
said  of  him:  "His  daring  was  proverbial,  his  powers 
of  endurance  almost  incredible,  his  character  heroic, 
and  his  sagacity  almost  intuitive  in  divining  the  pur 
poses  and  movements  of  the  enemy."  This,  I  think, 
was  on  Friday,  June  6th.  Next  day  all  was  quiet. 
Our  guns  were  silent  the  first  time  in  fifteen  days. 
Sunday  morning,  June  8th,  I  was  sent  for  betimes  by 
Brig.-General  Geo.  H.  Steuart,  who,  after  a  brief  ser- 


110  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

vice  with  the  cavalry,  had  been  assigned  to  an  infantry 
brigade.  I  went  at  once  to  his  headquarters,  expect 
ing  a  reprimand,  or  to  be  ordered  under  arrest,  because 
I  had,  with  John  Gill,  slipped  out  of  the  column  in  the 
dark  and  spent  a  night  (or  rather  part  of  the  night)  in 
a  house  in  Harrisburg,  where  we  were  refreshed  with 
food  and  a  wash.  "Has  the  general  found  this  out?" 
I  said  to  myself.  What  was  my  relief  when  he  informed 
me  that  he  had  decided  to  make  me  his  aide-de-camp, 
as  he  had  observed  "that  I  had  been  a  good  soldier 
and  had  been  the  first  man  in  the  regiment  to  set  the 
example  of  reenlisting  for  the  war."  I  thanked  him, 
and  returning  to  my  mess  began  packing  my  knapsack 
preparatory  to  moving  up  to  headquarters.  Observ 
ing  this,  the  men  asked  me  what  I  was  doing,  and  in 
reply  I  told  them  I  was  tired  doing  the  duty  of  an  infan 
tryman  and  was  going  up  to  headquarters  to  be  on 
the  general's  staff.  I  have  mentioned  that  most  of 
my  immediate  friends  had  preferred  not  to  reenlist, 
and  as  the  day  approached  (it  was  now  only  two  weeks 
off)  when  our  company  was  to  be  mustered  out,  I  had 
been  made  the  butt  of  many  a  gibe  as  to  what  would  be 
my  fate  after  that.  I  would,  said  they,  be  drafted  into 
E.'s  company  —  which  was  made  up  of  roughs  —  and 
what  would  I  do  then?  Well,  now  it  was  my  turn  to 
laugh,  as  I  told  them  that  the  general  said  one  reason 
he  had  selected  me  was  that  I  had  been  the  first  to 
reenlist. 

My  cousin,  Wm.  Duncan  McKim,  had,  previous 
to  this,  been  appointed  aide  to  General  Trimble,  and 
McHenry  Howard  had  been  given  a  place  on  General 
Winder's  staff. 

I  entered  at  once  on  my  duties,  but  was  embarrassed 


LIEUT.  RANDOLPH  H.  McKIM,  1862 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN        111 

by  the  fact  that  I  had  neither  horse,  nor  sword,  nor 
spurs  —  and  of  course  no  uniform  but  my  gray  jacket 
with  the  chevrons  of  a  sergeant  on  the  left  arm,  having 
been  made  color  sergeant  not  long  before.  I  had 
hardly  reached  headquarters  when  the  enemy  was 
reported  advancing,  and  in  a  very  short  time  the  bloody 
battle  of  Cross  Keys,  Sunday,  June  8th,  had  begun. 
General  Steuart  bade  me  mount  a  beautiful  black  horse 
belonging  to  Major  Kyle,  the  quartermaster,  who  was 
absent.  I  felt  happy  and  proud  when  I  found  myself 
astride  of  that  fine  animal. 

I  need  not  describe  the  battle  that  ensued.  That 
has  been  done  with  admirable  accuracy  by  Lieut.-Col. 
Henderson  in  his  "Life  of  Stonewall  Jackson,"  and 
by  various  other  writers.  Ewell,  with  6,000  infantry, 
5  batteries,  and  a  small  cavalry  force,  defeated  Fre 
mont,  with  over  10,000  infantry,  12  batteries,  and 
2,000  cavalry.  It  is  amusing  now  to  read  Fremont's 
despatch  to  Shields,  who  was  just  across  the  mountain. 
"The  enemy  need  only  a  movement  on  the  flank  to 
panic-strike  them.  No  man  has  had  such  a  chance 
since  the  war  commenced.  You  are  within  thirty 
miles  of  a  broken,  retreating  army."  In  two  days 
that  "broken  army"  was  to  smash  up  the  two  armies 
of  Shields  and  Fremont,  numbering  25,000  men! 

As  the  battle  progressed,  I  was  sent  by  General 
Steuart  with  a  despatch  to  Major-General  Ewell,  who 
was  in  active  command.  I  found  him  surrounded 
by  his  staff  of  young  officers,  well  mounted  and  hand 
somely  equipped.  He  gave  me  an  order  to  take  back 
to  General  Steuart,  but  when  I  turned  to  go,  Major 
Kyle's  horse  positively  refused  to  face  the  very  heavy 
artillery  fire  directly  in  front.  In  vain  I  dug  my  heels 


112  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

into  his  side.  Whereupon  General  Ewell  laughed  aloud 
and  said,  "Ha!  Ha!  a  courier  without  any  spurs!"1 
This,  in  the  presence  of  his  staff,  was  too  much  to  bear 
patiently.  I  was  very  angry  and  felt  the  blood  suffuse 
my  face.  To  call  me  a  "  courier  "  when  I  was  a  "  First 
Lieut,  and  A.  D.  C.,"  with  pay  of  135  Confederate 
dollars  per  month  and  allowances,  —  almost  enough 
by  1864  to  purchase  a  pair  of  cavalry  boots!  And  to 
do  this  before  his  whole  staff  on  the  field  of  battle! 
However,  I  could  only  swallow  the  affront  and  obey 
the  general's  suggestion,  "Young  man,  you  will  have  to 
go  back  another  way." 

So  I  started  back  "another  way,"  but  before 
long  struck  a  Virginia  regiment  lying  down  in  the 
long  grass  in  support  of  our  batteries  which  were 
hotly  engaged  just  in  front.  I  reined  up  and  asked 
if  there  was  any  officer  who  would  lend  me  a  spur, 
as  I  was  bearing  an  important  despatch  and  my 
horse  would  not  "face  the  music"  of  the  Parrots. 
Then  up  rose  an  officer,  who,  I  afterwards  learned,  was 
Major  John  Ross.  He  kept  rising  till  his  stalwart  fig 
ure  was  six  feet  three  inches  in  the  air,  then  he  stooped 
and  unbuckled  one  of  his  spurs  and  handed  it  to  me. 
I  dismounted,  buckled  it  on,  remounted,  and  thanking 
the  major,  rode  off,  not  by  the  "other  way  round," 

1  General  Ewell  is  thus  described  by  Gen.  Dick  Taylor  in  that 
racy  volume  of  his  "  Destruction  and  Reconstruction  " : 

"  Bright,  prominent  eyes,  a  bomb-shaped,  bald  head,  and  a  nose 
like  that  of  Francis  of  Valois,  gave  him  a  striking  resemblance  to  a 
woodcock;  and  this  was  increased  by  a  bird-like  habit  of  putting 
his  head  on  one  side  to  utter  his  quaint  speeches." 

He  was  a  bold  horseman,  a  fine  fighter,  and  a  fine  commander. 
He  had  a  supreme  admiration  for  Jackson,  and  used  to  say  "he 
never  saw  one  of  Jackson's  couriers  approach  without  expecting  an 
order  to  assault  the  North  Pole! " 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN        11L 

\ 

but  the  direct  way,  across  the  bare  horseshoe  knoll, 
right  in  front,  where,  I  think,  all  of  our  artillery  was 
concentrated,  and  upon  which  the  enemy's  cannon  were 
directed  from  several  different  points,  like  the  spokes  of 
the  section  of  a  wheel  converging  on  the  hub.  It  was 
a  very  hot  place  indeed,  and  the  hottest  spot  was  a 
little  in  rear  of  our  batteries,  where  the  lines  of  artil 
lery  fire  met  and  crossed.  I  noted  it  in  my  diary  as 
"a  perfect  hail  of  shell,  cannon-balls,  and  bullets." 
My  beautiful  black  was  not  to  be  blamed  for  not  wish 
ing  to  spoil  his  beauty  in  such  a  terrible  place!  But 
now,  with  the  sharp  spur  plunged  into  his  side,  he  had 
no  option  but  to  obey  his  rider;  so  away  we  went 
full  speed  across  the  infernal  spot.  Well,  just  in  the 
middle  of  it,  a  round  shot  tore  up  the  ground  under 
neath  us  and  passed  harmlessly  to  us  on  its  deadly 
path,  and  at  that  moment  my  little  infantry  cap  flew 
off  my  head.  Then  ensued  in  my  mind  a  brief  but 
fierce  battle  (it  lasted  just  about  one  second)  between 
Pride  and  Fear.  Fear  said,  "If  you  get  off  this  horse 
to  pick  up  that  cap,  you  are  a  dead  man!"  But  Pride 
promptly  replied,  "You  won't  ride  up  to  the  general's 
staff  with  no  cap  on  your  head!"  Well,  Pride  con 
quered,  and  I  was  fool  enough  to  rein  up,  dismount, 
and  pick  up  my  worthless  cap,  —  but  I  enjoyed  that 
immunity  which  the  proverb  says  is  given  to  children 
and  fools,  for  neither  my  noble  horse  nor  I  was  touched 
just  then  by  any  of  the  flying  missiles  of  death. 

In  that  battle  I  saw  two  men  absolutely  overcome  by 
"panic  fear"  -  and  I  do  not  recall  any  other  examples 
through  the  whole  war.  One  of  these  was  an  artillery 
man  who  had  taken  refuge  under  the  caisson,  where 
he  crouched  trembling  like  a  leaf.  I  saw  a  sergeant 


114  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

ride  up  and  point  a  pistol  at  his  head,  saying,  "Come 
out  from  under  there  and  do  your  duty,  and  you'll 
have  some  chance  of  your  life,  but  if  you  stay  there, 
by  the  Eternal,  I'll  blow  your  brains  out."  I  didn't 
stay  to  see  what  the  result  was.  Then,  shortly  after, 
I  saw  another  soldier  crouching  in  terror  behind  a 
tree.  The  next  moment  came  a  round  shot,  which 
went  through  the  tree  and  absolutely  decapitated  the 
man!  Major  Stiles  tells  a  story  of  a  little  army  dog 
named  "Bob  Lee/'  who  became  demoralized  at  the 
battle  of  Chancellorsville  and  took  shelter  behind  a 
tree,  "crouching  and  squatting  as  a  demoralized  man 
might  have  done."  He,  however,  escaped  with  his 
life! 

I  suppose  these  two  men  might,  under  other  circum 
stances  and  on  other  occasions,  have  stood  up  to  their 
duty  as  good  soldiers.  He  who,  on  one  particular  day 
and  under  certain  mental  or  physical  conditions,  may 
play  the  coward,  may  be  steady  and  true  on  another  day 
in  face  of  danger.  It  is  certainly  a  familiar  fact  that 
the  bravest  troops  are  sometimes  for  some  unaccount 
able  reason  seized  with  panic.  I  may  here  say  that  I 
never  felt  inclined  to  dodge  when  a  shell  came  shriek 
ing  through  the  air  —  simply  because  I  always  said 
to  myself,  "Why,  you  are  just  as  liable  to  dodge  your 
head  into  the  shell  as  away  from  it  —  for  you  don't 
know  at  what  point  it  will  pass." 

Another  thing  I  saw  that  day,  which  is,  I  think, 
unusual,  was  this :  a  Parrott  shell  leaped  into  the  midst 
of  a  group  of  men  and  exploded,  killing  and  wounding 
several.  It  was  close  to  me,  and  I  saw  the  shell  as  it 
dropped.  That  was  the  unusual  circumstance,  —  to 
see  the  shell  come.  Later  in  the  battle  my  beautiful 


STONEWALL  JACKSON'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN        115 

black  was  shot  under  me.  The  ball  went  right  through 
his  head.  I  heard  the  "thud"  as  it  struck,  and  then 
the  noble  animal  tumbled  and  fell,  but  I  quickly  with 
drew  my  feet  from  the  stirrups  and  as  he  fell  over  on 
one  side,  I  sprang  off  on  the  other.  My  first  thought 
as  he  lay  there  before  me  was,  "How  shall  I  ever  pay 
Major  Kyle  for  that  horse?" 

I  left  the  field  instantly  to  procure  another  horse, 
but  before  I  returned,  my  chief,  Gen.  Geo.  H.  Steuart, 
had  been  shot  by  a  canister  ball,  which  pierced  the 
upper  part  of  the  chest  and  lodged  in  the  back. 

It  was  then  my  duty,  as  of  his  personal  staff,  to  pro 
cure  an  ambulance  and  carry  him  off  the  field,  and  after 
that  to  find  quarters  for  him  in  some  safe  place  within 
the  lines. 

The  battle  ended,  as  all  know,  in  victory  for  Ewell. 
Jackson  was  on  the  field,  but  did  not  interfere  with 
his  subordinate.  No  officer  contributed  more  to  the 
success  than  our  gallant  Marylander,  General  Trimble. 
During  the  beginning  of  the  battle  of  Cross  Keys 
a  sharp  encounter  took  place  on  the  other  side  of  the 
mountain  at  Port  Republic  between  some  of  Jackson's 
force  and  the  advance  brigade  and  cavalry  of  General 
Shields.  The  latter  were  driven  back  in  confusion  and 
with  serious  loss. 

I  find  the  following  entry  in  my  little  diary  on 
June  15th  at  the  University  of  Virginia: 

"Here  I  have  been  since  Wednesday  morning  with  Gen 
eral  Steuart,  who  was  wounded  on  Sunday  in  that  terrible 
battle  with  Fremont's  forces.  This  campaign  with  Jackson 
from  May  23d  to  June  9th  has  been  a  most  eventful  one, 
fraught  with  danger  and  hardship  beyond  anything  I  have 
ever  experienced.  Yet  God  has  brought  me  safely  through 


116  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

it  all.  I  have  been  in  three  pitched  battles  and  numerous 
skirmishes.  Last  Sunday  I  had  a  horse  shot  under  me,  but 
my  life  has  been  graciously  spared,  and  to-day  I  am  a 
monument  of  God's  merciful  protection.  .  .  .  Last  Sabbath, 
while  riding  backwards  and  forwards  in  a  perfect  hail  of 
shell,  cannon-balls,  and  bullets,  I  was  deeply  impressed 
with  my  entire  dependence  on  God's  care,  and  in  gratitude 
for  my  preservation,  I  inwardly  resolved  to  devote  myself 
more  perfectly  to  his  service,  and  especially  to  urge  my  fellow 
men  to  repent  and  turn  to  God." 

The  battle  of  Port  Republic  was  fought  the  next 
day,  and  Shields'  army  was  hurled  back  down  the  Luray 
valley  in  confusion,  with  heavy  loss  in  killed,  wounded, 
and  prisoners. 

By  these  operations  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  McDow 
ell's  army  of  40,000  men  and  100  guns,  which  should 
have  gone  to  McClellan's  aid  in  his  advance  against 
Richmond,  were  held  back,  and  thus  Richmond  was 
saved. 


CHAPTER  X 

BETWEEN   CAMPAIGNS 

AS  a  member  of  the  personal  staff  of  Gen.  Geo.  H. 
Steuart  it  was  now  my  duty  to  be  in  attendance 
on  him  in  the  hospital  until  he  should  have  recovered 
from  his  wound,  or  until  he  assigned  me  to  some  other 
duty.  Accordingly  I  was  a  good  deal  with  him  at 
the  University  of  Virginia,  where  he  remained  for  some 
time  during  his  convalescence.  I  also  spent  some 
time  in  Staunton,  where  I  went  to  purchase  a  horse 
and  other  equipment  —  uniform,  sword,  pistol,  spurs, 
etc. — suitable  to  my  rank  as  a  staff  officer.  While 
there  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Miss  Agnes  Gray 
Phillips,  who  became  my  wife  on  the  26th  of  February, 
1863. 

I  would  here  make  mention  of  the  generous  hos 
pitality  extended  to  all  Confederate  soldiers  by  Rev. 
R.  H.  Phillips  and  his  wife.  There  my  cousin,  Major 
Wm.  Duncan  McKim,  was  nursed  for  months  after 
his  serious  wound  received  at  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg, 
Sept.  22,  1862.  There  another  cousin  of  mine,  Joseph 
Irving,  was  nursed  at  a  later  stage  of  the  war  till  he 
died.  There  all  our  soldiers,  and  especially  exiled 
Marylanders,  found  ever  a  welcome  and  a  home.  All 
that  hospitality  and  kindness  and  sympathy  could 
do  to  cheer  and  help  them  was  freely  given  in  that 
lovely  Christian  home. 

117 


118  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

The  latter  part  of  June  I  made  a  visit  to  Richmond 
to  secure  my  commission  and  equipment.  The  fol 
lowing  letter  refers  to  this  period: 

RICHMOND,  June  24,  1862. 
MY  DEAREST  MOTHER: 

Still  in  Richmond,  you  see,  though  the  1st  of  June  has  come 
and  gone,  and  still  the  " Young  (very  young)  Napoleon" 
tarries  outside  the  Capitol.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  realize, 
as  I  sit  quietly  at  the  table  in  Mrs.  Nicholas'  dining  room, 
that  there  are  two  immense  armies  lying  opposite  each  other 
scarcely  five  miles  from  the  limits  of  the  city.  A  battle 
may  occur  at  any  moment:  when  it  comes  it  will  be  fearful 
in  carnage  and  most  momentous  in  its  result;  it  will  decide, 
it  seems  to  me,  whether  our  independence  will  be  at  once 
established  or  whether  this  war  shall  drag  its  weary  and 
blighting  length  over  years  yet  to  come.  But,  mother,  I 
have  confidence  in  God's  help  and  guidance  and  in  the  valor 
and  fortitude  of  our  Southern  troops.  You  are  wondering 
what  I  am  doing  here.  Well,  I  will  tell  you.  If  you  have 
received  a  letter  I  wrote  you  from  Charlottesville  last  week, 
you  know  that  I  am  now  General  Steuart's  aide-de-camp, 
that  he  was  wounded  severely  in  the  shoulder,  that  I  came  off 
the  field  with  him  and  brought  him  to  Charlottesville  where 
he  now  is.  I  have  just  arrived  here.  My  business  is  to  get 
my  commission  and  equipment.  On  my  way  I  stopped  in 
Lynchburg  at  Mrs.  Blackford's.  Saw  Vinnie  and  her  hus 
band,  and  received  from  Mr.  Tom  Taylor  the  loan  of  a 
beautiful  sword  captured  at  Manassas;  it  has  "U.  S."  on 
the  hilt,  but  that  means  (for  me)  "United  South." 

They  were  all  very  affectionate  and  kind.  We  are  all 
brothers  and  sisters  now  in  the  South.  I  always  feel  sure 
wherever  I  am  that  I  will  be  a  welcome  guest  on  account 
of  the  proud  title  I  bear,  "a  soldier  of  the  South."  We  are 
suffering  many  privations  now;  everyone  is  obliged  to  deny 
themselves  the  luxuries  of  life;  you  would  be  astonished  at 


BETWEEN  CAMPAIGNS  119 

the  universal  scarcity  of  what  were  once  considered  the 
necessities  of  life.  Tea  is  $10  a  pound,  for  instance;  fine 
uniform  cloth  $13.75  per  yard;  beef  $1.00  per  lb.;  chickens 
$1.00  apiece,  etc.  But  still  you  hear  no  complaint;  the 
people  seem  willing  to  bear  this,  and  much  more,  if  necessary. 
It  is  astonishing  to  see  how  cheerfully  people  give  up  those 
nearest  and  dearest  to  them  as  sacrifices  to  the  great  cause. 
Nothing  could  surpass  the  devotion  with  which  the  ladies 
have  nursed  and  watched  the  sick  and  wounded.  They 
cook  regularly  for  them  themselves;  all  the  delicacies  are 
given  up  to  them;  the  little  white  sugar  left  in  the  Con 
federacy  is  always  laid  aside  for  them.  It  is  beautiful  on 
the  other  hand  to  observe  the  fortitude  and  patience  which 
the  wounded  soldiers  show  in  the  hospitals.  While  at 
Charlottesville  I  several  times  went  through  one  of  the 
hospitals,  and  talked  to  some  of  the  wounded,  and  read 
the  Testament  to  them.  One  poor  Georgian,  dangerously 
wounded,  interested  me  deeply.  You  know  I  have  been 
through  all  that  campaign  with  Jackson  in  the  valley,  and 
would  not  have  missed  it  for  my  commission.  If  any 
American  general  is  like  Napoleon,  he  is.  Our  gallant  First 
has  been  in  the  advance,  and  then  covered  the  retreat 
all  the  way.  It  was  badly  cut  up,  but  covered  itself  with 
glory.  Phil  Coakley  slightly  wounded  —  Willie  Colston 
dangerously.  These  are  the  only  two  you  know,  except 
poor  Nick  Snowden  who  was  killed. 

When  the  general  was  somewhat  recovered,  he 
ordered  me  to  Richmond  to  open  headquarters  for  the 
organization  of  the  Maryland  Line.  This  was  early 
in  August,  1862,  but  I  cannot  remember  that  much  was 
accomplished  there  in  that  enterprise. 

During  the  summer  the  First  Maryland  Regiment 
was  disbanded,  its  term  of  enlistment  having  expired. 
This  was  done  at  Charlottesville.  Very  soon  —  almost 


120  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

immediately  afterward  —  the  Maryland  Battalion  of 
infantry  was  organized.  It  was  afterward  known  as 
the  Second  Maryland  Regiment. 

Early  in  September,  1862,  General  Steuart,  though 
still  unfit  for  active  duty  in  the  field,  was  ordered  to 
Winchester,  and  given  command  of  the  Maryland  Line, 
then  being  organized  there.  It  consisted  of  infantry, 
artillery,  and  cavalry.  We,  who  were  members  of  his 
staff,  including  Capt.  Geo.  Williamson,  Lieut.  McHenry 
Howard,  Major  Kyle,  and  myself,  were  much  occupied 
in  the  duties  connected  with  this  organization  and  its 
equipment  with  arms,  uniforms,  and  supplies.  Our 
general  had  command  also  of  the  post  and  of  the  region 
of  country  in  that  part  of  the  valley.  The  roads  to 
Romney,  to  Martinsburg,  and  to  Berryville  were  care 
fully  picketed.  Prisoners  were  sometimes  brought  in 
from  the  front,  once  or  twice  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
require  a  detail  of  a  considerable  number  of  men  to 
escort  them  up  the  valley  to  Staunton. 

We  had  a  busy  but  an  uneventful  autumn  and  win 
ter.  Owing  to  these  post  duties  with  my  still  disabled 
chief,  I  took  no  part  in  the  stirring  campaign  which 
embraced  the  two  great  battles  of  Second  Manassas 
and  Sharpsburg,  or  in  the  winter  campaign  marked  by 
the  battle  of  Fredericksburg.  And  it  was  not  until 
the  following  spring  that  General  Steuart  was  able  to 
resume  active  duty  in  the  field. 

Of  this  whole  period  I  have  no  diary  to  refer  to,  and 
therefore  I  pass  it  over,  unwilling  to  rely  on  my  memory 
for  the  narrative  of  events.  This  is  of  little  moment, 
however,  for  I  am  not  attempting  in  these  pages  to  tell 
the  history  of  the  war,  or  to  give  a  full  record  of  my 
experience  in  it,  but  only  to  present  such  sketches  of 


BETWEEN  CAMPAIGNS  121 

the  life  I  led  as  may  assist  in  a  better  understanding 
of  the  everyday  experiences  of  the  Confederate  soldier 
in  that  great  struggle. 

During  a  considerable  part  of  this  post  duty  at 
Winchester,  I  performed  the  duties  of  adjutant-general, 
Captain  Williamson  having  been  invalided  to  Staunton, 
where  Major  W.  Duncan  McKim  was  enjoying  himself 
while  he  slowly  recovered  from  his  wound.  The  Second 
Maryland  Infantry  was  with  us  there.  Lieut.-Gen. 
Jackson  was  often  in  Winchester  the  early  part  of 
the  winter.  During  this  period  I  continued  to  write 
to  my  brother  Telfair,  urging  that  it  was  his  duty  to 
stay  at  home  and  care  for  his  father  and  mother,  who 
were  growing  old  —  and  not  come  South  to  enter  the 
army.  It  was  hard  for  the  gallant  boy  to  take  my  ad 
vice,  but  he  did,  though  I  know  it  took  more  courage 
than  to  shoulder  a  musket  and  follow  Jackson. 

I  insert  here  a  letter  referring  to  the  life  at  Winchester 
at  this  time: 

HEADQUARTERS,  WINCHESTER, 

November  20,  1862. 
To  MY  MOTHER: 

Again  I  write  a  letter  which  I  expect  to  leave  behind 
me  in  Winchester  when  we  evacuate  the  town.  This  time 
I  think  we  shall  certainly  leave  here,  as  some  of  the  troops 
already  have  marching  orders.  Flying  reports,  which  I 
don't  believe,  come  to  us  of  General  Hill  being  defeated 
and  General  Longstreet  attacked.  Jackson,  with  a  large 
army,  is  here,  though,  and  we  may  be  overwhelmed,  but 
never  defeated.  General  Steuart  has  been  commandant  of 
this  post  for  more  than  two  months,  as  you  know,  perhaps. 
He  is  charged  with  the  rear-guard  in  the  movement  with 
the  Maryland  Line.  This  is  the  second  time  Marylanders 
have  been  the  last  to  leave  Winchester.  I  am  sorry  to  leave 


122  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

it.  I  like  some  of  the  people  very  much,  particularly  the 
Conrads,  whom  I  know  very  well.  They  would  correspond 
exactly  with  sister  Mary's  idea  of  refinement  and  culture. 
They  have  been  very  kind  to  me.  I  hope  you  may  meet 
them.  I  will  give  this  to  them  and  possibly  some  lines, 
which  mamma  will  recollect,  "Wife,  Children,  Friends." 
Grandpa  used  to  sing  them.  I  have  added  three  verses  to 
the  song  and  I  want  you  to  see  them. 

George  Williamson  is  in  Staunton  on  sick  furlough:  I 
am  acting  adjutant-general.  I  have  a  great  deal  of  work 
to  do,  and  sometimes  it  gives  me  quite  a  bad  headache. 
Of  course  George  is  staying  at  Mr.  Phillips'  and  enjoying 
himself  hugely.  Duncan  has  left  Staunton  and  is  staying 
at  Edge  Hill.  He  has  entirely  recovered,  I  believe.  All 
other  friends  are  well,  I  believe.  Yesterday  I  saw  Mr.  Hill 
of  La.,  who  stayed  with  Mr.  Sam  Smith  on  Park  Street, 
and  knew  you  all.  I  was  in  the  office  attending  to  business 
when  he  came  in  and  enquired  for  Lieut.  Randolph  McKim. 
I  have  not  yet  received  the  letter  sent  by  him.  Have 
heard  frequently  from  you  lately,  my  ylast  was  Oct.  30th. 


Give  my  warmest  love  to  all  my  friends  in  dear  old  Balti 
more.  I  love  them  and  my  native  town  more  the  longer  I 
am  separated  from  them.  I  cherish  no  hopes  that  do  not 
include  Baltimore  and  Maryland  in  the  bounds  of  our 
Confederacy.  I  love  every  stone  and  every  tree  in  both 
of  them,  however  much  I  may  love  the  South  and  my 
Southern  friends.  They  are  all  kind  and  good  to  me,  but 
cannot  take  the  place  of  those  I  have  bid  such  a  long 
farewell  to. 

After  serving  as  commander  of  the  Post  at  Winches 
ter  for  about  three  months,  General  Steuart  found  that 
his  wound  was  growing  worse  and  that  he  was  unfit 
for  the  duties  of  the  office.  He  therefore  requested 


BETWEEN  CAMPAIGNS  123 

a  furlough  of  three  months,  and  took  his  departure  for 
Savannah,  Ga.  This  threw  me  out  of  active  service, 
and  some  time  in  December,  1862,  I  went  to  Staunton 
and  arranged  to  remain  there  until  such  time  as  Gen 
eral  Steuart  should  be  able  to  take  the  field. 

Here  I  spent  the  Christmas  of  1862,  referred  to  in 
the  following  letter.  The  picture  it  gives  represents 
a  rare  oasis  in  our  Confederate  experience. 

STAUNTON,  December  27,  1862. 

We  are  just  through  the  "festivities"  of  Christmas  and 
Duncan  and  I  have  been  wondering  how  you  all  enjoyed 
yourselves  on  that  day.  I  said  "the  festivities"  of  Christ 
mas;  they  consisted  only  of  a  very  nicely  prepared  and 
beautifully  set  out  family  dinner.  We  had  everything  that 
you  could  think  of,  except  ice-cream  and  iced  fruit,  etc.  Our 
plum-pudding  too  did  not  have  any  raisins  in  it,  but  cherries 
made  a  very  good  substitute.  Shall  I  give  you  our  bill  of 
fare?  —  Oyster  Soup  —  Roast  Turkey,  Ham,  Round  of  Beef, 
Fresh  Beef,  Fried  Oysters,  Lobster  Salad  —  Hominy, 
Potatoes,  Beans,  Salsafy,  Rice,  Dried  Fruit — Plum-pudding, 
Charlotte  Russe,  Jelly,  Pound  Cake,  and  Jelly  Cake,  Puffs, 
etc.,  and  Java  Coffee!  That  will  do  for  the  Southern  Confed 
eracy,  where  everybody  is  starving!  You  must  not  suppose 
people  generally,  however,  are  so  fortunate.  Mrs.  Phillips 
is  a  capital  housekeeper,  and  had  large  supplies  of  every 
thing  on  hand  when  the  war  broke  out.  I  only  make  this 
enumeration  to  show  you  how  well  Duncan  and  I  fared  on 
Christmas  Day.  The  day  was  a  very  happy  one  to  me.  We 
had  breakfast  about  nine,  and  then  family  prayers.  We 
attended  at  the  Episcopal  Church  and  heard  a  beautiful 
discourse  from  Dr.  Sparrow.  I  am  much  delighted  with 
" the  dear  old  Doctor"  as  he  is  called.  So  much  learning  and 
piety  are  seldom  found  combined  with  so  much  simplicity 


124  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

of  character  and  such  childlike  meekness  and  love.     His 
prayers  and  his  exhortations  are  peculiarly  delightful. 

I  utilized  the  time  in  Staunton  (besides  teaching  a 
small  class  in  Latin,  French,  and  English)  in  general 
reading  and  in  particular  in  the  investigation  of  the 
question  of  primitive  Church  government.  It  was 
during  this  winter  of  1862-63  that  I  finally  decided 
to  enter  the  Episcopal  Church. 

My  mother  was  an  Episcopalian,  having  been  con 
firmed  by  Bishop  Moore,  and  all  but  two  of  her  eleven 
brothers  and  sisters  were  of  the  same  faith.  The 
Harrison  family,  which  had  been  identified  with  Vir 
ginian  history  since  1634,  had  always  been  of  the  Church 
of  England.  The  same  was  true  of  the  Randolphs 
and  the  Carters  and  the  Carys  —  from  all  of  which 
families  my  mother  was  descended.  In  Baltimore 
my  mother  and  father  had  attended  Christ  Church 
when  it  stood  east  of  the  Falls,  and  also  the  second 
Christ  Church  on  Gay  Street,  of  which  the  two  brothers 
Johns  had  successively  been  rectors.  My  first  recol 
lection  of  any  church  service  was  of  this  latter  church 
and  of  Dr.  Henry  Johns  vested  in  his  black  gown. 
Later  my  father  decided  to  attend  Dr.  Plummer's 
Presbyterian  Church,  in  which  faith  he  had  been 
brought  up,  and  of  that  church  I  became  a  member 
when  I  was  fifteen  years  of  age.  But  at  the  Univer 
sity  of  Virginia  I  had  become  much  interested  in  the 
Episcopal  service,  so  that  now,  when  I  was  considering 
my  preparation  for  the  ministry,  I  decided  to  investi 
gate  the  question  of  Church  government  for  myself. 
The  result  of  this  decided  me  to  become  a  candidate 
for  orders  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  which  I  did  in 
the  spring  of  1863. 


BETWEEN  CAMPAIGNS  125 

My  Uncle  Peyton  Harrison  was  a  stanch  Presby 
terian,  and  when  we  met  after  the  war,  he  said,  "Well, 
Randolph,  you  have  left  the  Church  of  your  Fathers." 
"Yes,"  I  replied,  "I  have  returned  to  the  Church  of 
my  Forefathers." 

When  General  Steuart's  three  months  furlough  ex 
pired,  he  found  himself  still  unfit  for  duty  in  the  field, 
and  as  a  consequence  I  became  restless  and  dissatisfied 
at  my  long  absence  from  the  army.  I  had  now  been 
out  of  active  service  for  four  months. 

Accordingly  I  made  application  through  my  cousin, 
Major  W.  Duncan  McKim,  for  an  appointment  on 
General  Trimble's  staff.  This  plan  failed,  as  that 
general's  staff  was  already  excessively  large.  My 
cousin,  however,  wrote  me  that  Gen.  Rooney  Lee 
(W.  H.  F.  Lee)  had  expressed  a  desire  to  have  me  on 
his  staff.  However,  before  this  could  be  consummated, 
General  Steuart  wrote  that  he  would  shortly  require 
my  services.  Of  this  I  was  glad,  as  I  fully  shared  the 
sentiment  expressed  by  my  friend  McHenry  Howard, 
that  a  commission  as  captain  of  ordinance  had  no 
attraction  for  him  if  it  could  separate  him  from  the 
Maryland  Line.  We  were  proud  of  our  State.  We 
were  fighting  to  set  her  free  to  choose  her  lot  with  North 
or  with  South,  and  we  were  confident  what  her  choice 
would  be.  The  army,  never  turned  northward,  but 
we  began  to  hope  that  we  should  soon  help  to  liberate 
our  native  State.  That  General  Steuart  would  be  hi 
command  of  the  Maryland  Line,  or  some  part  of  it,  I 
did  not  doubt.  And  so  the  event  proved,  for  at  Win 
chester  in  June,  1863,  the  Second  Maryland  Infantry 
was  attached  to  his  brigade. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE   BATTLE   OF   CHANCE  LLORSVILLE 

Sunday,  May  24th,  1863,  I  received  orders  to 
report  to  my  chief,  General  Steuart,  at  Fredericks- 
burg.  The  great  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  which  dis 
played  so  brilliantly  the  military  genius  of  both  General 
Lee  and  General  Jackson,  had  been  fought  on  May  2d 
and  3d,  resulting  in  a  great  victory  for  the  Confederate 
Army.  It  has  been  described  by  an  able  military 
critic  (Colonel  Henderson)  "as  the  tactical  masterpiece 
of  the  nineteenth  century."  General  Hooker's  strategy 
appears  to  me  worthy  of  all  praise.  It  only  failed 
because  it  was  confronted  by  the  superior  strategy 
of  Lee  and  by  the  indomitable  valor  of  the  army 
which  he  commanded.  Sedgwick,  with  22,000  men, 
was  thrown  across  the  Rappahannock  River  below 
Fredericksburg  on  April  29th.  But  this  was  not  the 
real  line  of  attack,  but  was  meant  to  deceive  Lee, 
while  Hooker  with  the  main  body  of  his  army  was 
marching  to  the  upper  fords  in  order  to  turn  Lee's 
right  flank.  This  operation  was  carried  out  so  suc 
cessfully  that,  on  the  30th  of  April,  General  Hooker 
issued  a  general  order  to  his  army,  felicitating  them 
and  himself  on  what  had  been  accomplished,  in  the 
following  terms:  "The  operations  of  the  last  three 
days  have  determined  that  our  enemy  must  either 
ingloriously  fly,  or  come  out  from  behind  his  defences 

126 


THE  BATTLE  OF  GHANCELLORSVILLE  127 

and  give  us  battle  on  our  own  ground,  where  certain 
destruction  awaits  him." 

He  would  have  done  well  to  remember  the  scriptural 
admonition,  "Let  not  him  that  putteth  on  his  armor 
boast  as  he  that  taketh  it  oft."  Lee  was  not  deceived 
by  the  movement  of  Sedgwick  on  his  right  flank.  He 
divined  that  the  real  attack  would  be  on  his  left, 
and  accordingly  leaving  Early  with  9,000  men  to 
hold  Sedgwick  in  check,  moved  with  Jackson  to  meet 
Hooker.  The  Federal  general,  with  six  army  corps, 
was  intrenched  at  Chancellorsville  in  an  apparently 
impregnable  position.  To  meet  this  host  of  more  than 
90,000  men,  Lee  had  but  48,000  of  all  arms,  and  it  is 
not  surprising  that  Hooker  should  have  so  confidently 
expected  that  with  such  a  force  in  such  a  strong  posi 
tion  on  his  left  flank  and  Sedgwick  with  22,000  men 
(perhaps  as  many  as  30,000)  moving  on  his  right  rear, 
the  Confederate  general  would  be  compelled  to  retreat. 
His  plan  was  admirably  conceived,  and  thus  far  ad 
mirably,  as  well  as  swiftly,  executed.  But  there  was 
an  unknown  quantity  in  the  problem  which  upset  all 
Hooker's  calculations.  That  was  the  audacious  strat 
egy  of  Lee  with  the  incomparable  Jackson  at  hand  to 
put  it  into  execution.  Hooker  cannot  be  blamed  for 
not  anticipating  the  audacity  of  the  plan  which  his 
great  antagonist  now  proceeded  to  develop.  Lee  had 
already  divided  his  army,  by  leaving  Early  at  Deep 
Run,  below  Fredericksburg,  twelve  miles  away.  He 
now  decided  to  still  further  divide  it  by  sending  Jack 
son  with  his  whole  corps  to  turn  Hooker's  right  flank 
and  crush  it  by  a  sudden  and  unexpected  blow,  while 
he,  with  only  two  divisions,  those  of  Anderson  and 
McLaw,  numbering  less  than  14,000  men,  stood  facing 


128  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

the  great  army  of  his  antagonist,  70,000  strong  at  this 
point.  In  deciding  upon  such  a  plan,  Lee  took  a  tre 
mendous  risk,  but  a  general  who,  with  57,000  men  of 
all  arms,  is  opposed  to  an  army  of  more  than  twice 
his  own  numbers  (130,000  was  the  strength  of  the 
Federal  Army)  can  only  hope  for  success  by  taking 
great  risks.1  Two  circumstances  justified  this  auda 
cious  movement,  —  first,  that  the  density  of  the  forest 
growth  made  it  possible  to  screen  the  march  of  General 
Jackson  around  Hooker's  right  rear,  and  second,  that 
Lee  possessed  in  Stonewall  Jackson  a  lieutenant  who 
was  so  brilliantly  qualified  to  execute  it  with  celerity, 
with  resoluteness,  and  with  skill. 

With  such  secrecy  and  swiftness  did  Jackson  march 
his  corps  around  Hooker's  right  flank  that  he  was  in 
position  to  deliver  his  assault  before  the  enemy  had 
any  information  of  his  approach.  It  is  almost  pathetic 
to  read  Hooker's  despatch  to  Sedgwick,  dictated  at 
4.10  P.M.,  May  2d,  bidding  him  "  capture  Fredericks- 
burg  and  vigorously  pursue  the  enemy,"  and  adding, 
"  We  know  that  the  enemy  is  fleeing  to  save  his  trains" 
-  this  while  Jackson  was  actually  preparing  to  launch 
the  thunderbolt  which  was  to  overwhelm  his  right 
wing,  inflicting  a  staggering  blow  upon  "the  finest 
army  on  the  planet,"  and  rendering  abortive  all  the 
well-laid  plans  of  its  commander. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  in  one  of  the  most  remarkable  letters 

1  The  Confederate  Army  was  thus  separated  into  three  parts :  Early 
ten  or  twelve  miles  away,  southward,  with  12,000  men  facing  Sedgwick 
with  23,000;  Lee,  with  about  13,000,  facing  Hooker's  entrenched  force 
of  70,000;  and  Jackson  with  30,000,  marching  twelve  miles  away  to  turn 
Hooker's  right  flank.  Then  there  was  Reynolds,  with  16,000  Federal 
troops  as  a  reserve  corps.  To  all  this  host  must  be  added  the  numerous 
Federal  cavalry. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  CHANCELLORSVILLE  129 

ever  addressed  to  the  commander  of  a  great  army, 
had  given  General  Hooker,  in  closing,  this  advice, 
"And  now,  beware  of  rashness!  Beware  of  rashness! 
but,  with  energy  and  sleepless  vigilance,  go  forward 
and  give  us  victories."  I  do  not  think  he  can  be 
accused  of  rashness  of  action  in  this  campaign,  but 
he  was  certainly  rash  in  speech  when  he  boasted  to 
his  soldiers  and  to  his  officers  of  the  certain  defeat  of 
the  Confederate  Army,  —  first,  before  he  had  struck  a 
blow,  and  secondly,  in  the  midst  of  the  battle,  at  the 
very  hour  when  Jackson's  crushing  blow  was  about  to 
descend  upon  him.  In  his  order  book  he  displayed  an 
audacity  which  is  astounding — it  surpassed  the  audac 
ity  of  Lee  on  the  field  of  battle  —  for,  after  his  magni 
ficent  army  had  been  driven  defeated  and  humiliated 
across  the  Rappahannock,  back  into  the.  camps 
from  which  it  had  marched  with  such  triumphant 
expectations  a  week  before,  General  Hooker  issued  an 
order  congratulating  his  army  "on  its  achievements 
in  the  last  seven  days,"  and  adding,  "The  events  of 
the  last  week  may  swell  with  pride  the  heart  of  every 
officer  and  soldier  in  this  army." 

It  would  be  a  work  of  supererogation  for  me  to  give 
any  extended  account  of  this  famous  battle,  so  thor 
oughly  described  by  various  military  critics,  but  I 
may  make  one  or  two  further  remarks  to  complete 
the  general  view  I  have  given  of  the  plan  of  Lee  and 
the  manner  of  its  execution.  After  Jackson  had  fallen 
by  the  fire  of  some  of  his  own  men  at  dusk  on  the  2d 
of  May,  in  the  full  tide  of  victory,  Gen.  J.  E.  B. 
Stuart,  a  soldier  of  whom  Colonel  Henderson,  the  Eng 
lish  critic,  says  that  he  was  "no  unworthy  successor 
of  Stonewall  Jackson,"  had  been  placed  in  command 


130  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

of  his  corps,  but  he  did  not  arrive  until  midnight,  so 
that  nothing  could  be  done  until  the  next  morning. 
Then,  in  cooperation  with  Lee,  he  delivered  blow  after 
blow,  with  great  effect,  against  the  army  of  Hooker, 
and  Chancellorsville  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Con 
federates.  At  this  moment,  ten  A.M.,  when  preparing 
an  assault  on  Hooker's  third  line  of  intrenchments, 
which  must  have  been  fatal  to  the  Federal  Army,  the 
arm  of  Lee  is  arrested  by  the  news  that  Sedgwick  has 
captured  Marye's  Heights  at  Fredericksburg,  has  swept 
Early  out  of  his  path,  and  is  marching  with  his  25,000 
or  30,000  men  on  Lee's  rear. 

This  was  disquieting  news  indeed.  Lee  had  intended 
that  Early  should  keep  between  him  and  Sedgwick. 
Instead,  Early  had  retreated  on  the  Plank  road  in  the 
direction  of  Richmond.  Thus  he  had  become  sepa 
rated  from  Lee,  and  could  render  him  no  assistance.  It 
was  a  critical  moment.  The  battle  was  not  yet  won. 
On  the  contrary,  it  might  easily  be  turned  into  defeat 
for  Lee,  with  Hooker  in  his  front  and  Sedgwick  in  his 
rear. 

But  the  genius  of  Lee  was  equal  to  the  emergency. 
He  resolved  on  a  movement  "even  more  daring,"  says 
the  Comte  de  Paris,  "than  that  which,  the  day  previ 
ous,  had  brought  Jackson  upon  the  flank  of  the  enemy." 
Suspending  his  attack  on  Hooker,  he  turned  with 
McLaws'  and  Anderson's  divisions,  advanced  swiftly 
against  Sedgwick,  attacked  him,  and  drove  him  back 
over  the  river.  This  operation,  necessary  for  Lee's 
salvation,  was  the  means  of  delivering  Hooker  from 
his  perilous  situation;  for  when  the  Confederate  chief 
tain  returned  to  strike  Hooker  the  coup  de  grace  which 
Sedgwick's  advance  on  his  rear  had  arrested,  the 


THE  BATTLE  OF  CHANCELLORSVILLE  131 

Federal  general  had  withdrawn  his  army  and  the  next 
day  he  made  good  his  retreat  by  the  very  fords  which 
Jackson  would  have  seized  had  he  not  been  cut  down 
by  that  deplorable  accident. 

I  will  only  add  that  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville 
illustrates  the  consummate  genius  and  audacity  of 
the  two  great  Southern  commanders  not  more  con 
spicuously  than  it  displays  the  sublime  devotion  and 
intrepidity  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Confederate 
Army. 

It  had  for  me  a  painful  personal  interest  (although 
I  took  no  part  in  it  myself)  because  my  gallant  cousin, 
Major  Wm.  Duncan  McKim,  was  killed  in  the  conflict 
of  May  3d,  during  one  of  the  assaults  on  the  intrench- 
ments  of  Hooker.  I  was  told  afterward  that  he  was 
the  only  officer  in  the  division  who  remained  mounted 
in  the  midst  of  that  frightful  hail  of  bullets,  there  in 
the  thick  woods.  An  officer  of  the  Stonewall  Bri 
gade  went  to  him  and  besought  him  to  dismount  — 
indeed  remonstrated  with  him  seriously  upon  the 
foolhardiness  and  uselessness  of  his  keeping  the  saddle 
under  the  circumstances;  and  when  he  could  not  pre 
vail  upon  him  to  take  his  advice,  returned  to  his  com 
pany  saying,  "Well,  it  is  only  a  question  of  minutes 
when  he  will  fall."  And  so  it  was  —  very  soon  he  was 
seen  to  reel  in  the  saddle  and  fall  to  the  ground.  His 
death  must  have  been  almost  instantaneous.  But  in 
fact  it  was  not,  I  believe,  foolhardiness  that  made  him 
thus  sacrifice  his  life.  It  appears  that  the  day  before 
he  had  received  a  severe  contusion  on  the  leg  from  a 
grapeshot,  and  the  brigade  surgeon  told  him  he  was 
unfit  to  go  into  the  battle  on  the  3d.  But  Duncan  could 
not  be  restrained.  He  got  into  the  saddle  somehow, 


132  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

and  marched  with  his  command.  Then,  when  Capt. 
Wm.  Randolph  begged  him  to  dismount,  he  refused 
because  he  knew  he  could  not  walk.  He  had  been  ever 
a  gallant  soldier,  cool  and  fearless  on  the  field  of  battle. 
At  Sharpsburg  in  September,  1862,  he  had  been  shot 
through  both  thighs  and  was  taken  to  the  residence  of 
Rev.  R.  H.  Phillips,  in  Staunton,  where  he  was  tenderly 
nursed  for  months  by  Mrs.  Phillips  and  her  daughter 
Agnes.  It  was,  I  think,  about  the  1st  of  February,  1863, 
that  Duncan  returned  to  the  field,  though  even  then  his 
wound  had  not  entirely  healed.  I  here  pay  my  tribute 
of  love  and  admiration  to  this  noble  man  and  brave 
soldier.  Fascinating  in  manners,  handsome  in  person, 
charming  in  conversation,  high-spirited,  a  man  of  high 
ideals  and  warm  affections,  brave  to  a  fault,  and  always 
good  company, — there  were  few  young  men  who  laid 
upon  the  altar  of  the  Confederate  cause  a  more  costly 
sacrifice  than  did  he. 

I  went  to  the  battle-field  about  ten  days,  perhaps 
two  weeks,  after  he  fell,  found  the  spot  where  he 
was  buried,  and  had  him  disinterred.  He  had  been 
wrapped  in  his  blanket  and  buried  without  a  coffin, 
and  mother  Earth  had  so  closely  held  him  in  her 
embrace  that  when  we  lifted  him  up  and  unwound 
the  blanket,  he  lay  before  us  as  perfectly  preserved 
as  if  he  had  fallen  only  a  few  hours  before.  We  buried 
him  in  the  cemetery  at  Staunton,  whence,  upon  the 
conclusion  of  the  war,  he  was  removed  to  Greenmount 
Cemetery,  Baltimore.  There  he  rests  in  peace  - 
"Siste  viator,  heroa  calcas."  I  was  now  the  last  sur 
vivor  of  the  three  of  my  name  who  had  entered  the 
Confederate  service  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE   OPENING   OF  THE   GETTYSBURG  CAMPAIGN 

nnHREE  weeks  after  the  battle  of  Chancellor sville  I 
-•-  received,  as  I  have  said,  orders  to  report  for  duty 
at  Fredericksburg,  and  on  Wednesday,  the  27th  of  May, 
I  set  out  from  Staunton  for  the  army.1  On  Thursday, 
after  a  ride  of  twenty-seven  miles,  I  reached  General 
Lee's  headquarters  at  1.45  P.M.  The  general  received 
me  graciously  and  asked  me  to  dine  with  him,  which 
I  was,  of  course,  glad  to  do.  The  highest  officer  in  the 
army  would  have  esteemed  it  a  great  honor  —  what, 

1  RICHMOND,  May  23,  1863. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  McKin: 

I  have  just  time  to  say  that  I  received  an  order  this  morning  to 
report  to  General  Lee  at  Fredericksburg  for  assignment  to  duty,  and  will 
leave  without  delay.  From  what  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill  said  this  morning, 
I  expect  to  be  assigned  to  command  of  a  brigade  in  Jackson's  old  division. 
Come  to  Fredericksburg  immediately  by  the  shortest  route,  if  they 
will  not  take  your  horse  on  the  cars.  It  will  be  better  anyhow  to  ride 
from  Gordonsville  to  the  army.  I  hope  the  battalion  and  staff  officers 
will  be  ordered  to  join  me.  I  fear  the  Maryland  Line  is  broken  up, 
never  to  be  together  again,  the  same  as  it  was  anyhow.  It  will  be  a 
great  disappointment  if  I  cannot  have  the  staff  officers  with  me,  and 
the  battalion  after  all  the  trouble  I  have  had  for  more  than  a  year 
past.  I  had  hoped  to  have  had  command  in  the  valley.  When  I 
see  you  I  will  have  much  to  say.  Mr.  —  —  goes  up  in  the  morning 
and  will  take  this.  You  will  find  me  somewhere  with  the  army.  With 
the  battalion  I  would  have  a  magnificent  brigade. 
Believe  me, 

Most  sincerely  yours, 

GEORGE   H.   STEUART. 
133 


134  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

then,  were  the  feelings  of  a  young  "  first  lieutenant 
and  A.  D.  C."  in  sitting  down  at  the  board  of  the  great 
soldier  who  was  the  idol  of  the  armies  and  the  people 
of  the  South?  The  simple  courtesy  and  genial  hos 
pitality  of  General  Lee  would  have  put  me  at  ease,  if 
I  had  been  a  stranger;  but  he  had  several  times  been 
a  guest  at  my  father's  house  in  Baltimore,  when  he  was 
in  charge  of  the  construction  of  Fort  Sollers  in  the 
Patapsco  River,  so  that  I  felt  at  home  in  his  presence. 
Our  families  were  on  very  friendly  and  familiar  terms. 
Indeed  the  general  was  a  cousin  of  my  mother,  both 
being  descended  from  the  famous  "King"  Carter. 

As  I  talked  with  him  after  dinner,  he  cast  his  eyes 
across  the  Rappahannock  to  the  camps  of  General 
Hooker's  army  and  said  to  me,  "I  wish  I  could  get  at 
those  people  over  there."  That  was  the  expression  by 
which  he  uniformly  designated  the  Federal  Army.  He 
was  very  friendly,  talked  of  the  days  when  he  used  to  visit 
Belvidere,  and  inquired  after  my  father  and  mother 
and  my  sisters.  I  spent  that  night,  or  the  next,  at 
the  headquarters  of  Gen.  Edward  Johnson,  who  was 
to  be  such  a  familiar  figure  to  me  in  battle  in  the 
approaching  campaign.  There  I  saw  Carvel  Hall,  who 
gave  me  a  full  account  of  Duncan  McKim's  death, 
describing  his  magnificent  gallantry. 

On  Saturday,  the  20th,  General  Ewell  arrived  in 
camp  with  his  wife  —  a  new  acquisition  —  and  with 
one  leg  less  than  when  I  saw  him  last.  From  a  mili 
tary  point  of  view  the  addition  of  the  wife  did  not 
compensate  for  the  loss  of  the  leg.  We  were  of  the 
opinion  that  Ewell  was  not  the  same  soldier  he  had 
been  when  he  was  a  whole  man  —  and  a  single  one. 

I  dined  with  General  Colston,  and  later  the  same 


GEN.   ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE,   1862 


OPENING  OF  THE  GETTYSBURG  CAMPAIGN        135 

day  General  Steuart  assumed  command  of  the  Third 
Brigade,  and  I  the  duties  of  assistant  adjutant-general, 
in  the  absence  of  Captain  Garrison.  The  brigade 
consisted  of  the  following  regiments: 

10th  Virginia,  Colonel  Warren. 

23d  Virginia,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Walton. 

37th  Virginia,  Major  Wood. 

1st  North  Carolina,  Colonel  McDowell. 

3d  North  Carolina,  Major  Parsley. 

Major  Stanard  was  our  chief  commissary,  Capt.  N.  S. 
Byrd  was  acting  quartermaster.  The  strength  of  the 
brigade  was  as  follows: 

10th  Virginia.     On  the  roll  627,  present  for  duty  342 

37th  Virginia           "         "    740       "         "       "  347 

23d  Virginia             "         "                 "         "        "  269 

1st  North  Carolina  "        "    927       "         "       "  510 

3d  North  Carolina  "        "     921                          "  473 

Total  present  for  duty  1941 

The  Maryland  regiment  joined  us  later. 

I  note  that  the  daily  ration  was  -J-  Ib.  bacon  and  1 1  Ibs. 
flour  per  man,  and  for  every  100  men  6  Ibs.  of  sugar, 
15  Ibs.  of  peas,  2  Ibs.  soap,  and  3  Ibs.  salt. 

The  men  were  armed  with  long-range  guns,  calibre 
58.  There  were  but  1,069  bayonets  in  the  brigade 
and  1,480  muskets;  51,000  rounds  of  ammunition  in 
the  hands  of  the  men,  and  50,000  in  the  ordnance 
train. 

Four  of  our  five  regiments  had  chaplains : 

1st  North  Carolina,  Rev.  W.  R.  Gaultney  (Baptist). 
3d  North  Carolina,  Rev.  Geo.  Patterson  (Episco 
palian). 


136  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

23d  Virginia,  Rev.  Mr.  Morton  (Presbyterian). 
10th  Virginia,  Brother  Balthus,  Exhorter. 

My  duties  as  adjutant-general  were  soon  over.  I 
barely  had  a  chance  to  make  out  and  send  in  the 
monthly  report  of  the  brigade  when  Captain  Garrison 
arrived  and  assumed  his  duties,  I  taking  again  my 
proper  office  as  aide-de-camp. 

That  was  my  first  Sunday  with  the  brigade,  and  I 
attended  service  in  the  First  North  Carolina  camp  and, 
after  a  sermon  by  the  chaplain,  I  rose  and  addressed 
the  men.  There  was  a  large  attendance.  The  influ 
ence  of  the  revival  the  preceding  winter  was  still  felt. 

In  this  connection  I  may  mention  that  I  had  resolved 
when  about  sixteen  years  of  age  to  devote  myself  to 
the  Christian  ministry.  At  the  time  I  entered  the 
University,  at  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  during  my 
course  there,  it  was  my  intention  to  go  to  China  as  a 
missionary.  It  was  not  till  later  that  I  concluded  I 
might  be  more  needed  at  home  than  abroad.  The 
inward  call  to  preach  Christ  to  my  fellow  men  pressed 
strongly  upon  me  in  my  camp  life,  and  I  find  many 
entries  in  my  little  diaries  showing  my  sense  of  respon 
sibility  in  relation  to  it.  Thus  on  June  3d: 

"Read,  talked,  and  prayed  with  about  fifteen  men  at  a 
log  house  near  camp.  Gave  them  tracts.  They  asked  my 
name  and  on  my  return,  as  I  was  riding  by,  they  stopped 
me  and  asked  what  chapter  it  was  I  had  read  to  them.  It 
was  the  27th  Psalm,  'The  Lord  is  my  light  and  my  salvation; 
whom  shall  I  fear?  The  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  life;  of 
whom  shall  I  be  afraid? '  One  of  the  poor  fellows  was  under 
sentence  of  death." 

I  found  General  Steuart  very  willing  to  have  me 


OPENING  OF  THE  GETTYSBURG  CAMPAIGN        137 

conduct  prayers  in  his  tent  in  the  evening;  often  the 
adjutant  and  he  and  I  were  the  only  persons  present. 
The  general  read  his  Bible  and  Prayer-Book  regu 
larly.  Throughout  this  thrilling  campaign,  I  found 
many  opportunities  of  trying  to  help  my  comrades 
and  fellow  officers  in  the  spiritual  life.  Looking  back 
now  over  forty-five  years  of  ministerial  life,  I  am 
prepared  to  say  that  in  my  whole  experience  I  have 
never  found  men  so  open  to  the  frank  discussion  of  the 
subject  of  personal  religion  as  the  officers  and  men  of 
Lee's  army.  The  example  of  our  great  commander 
and  of  Stonewall  Jackson  and  of  "Jeb"  Stuart — indeed 
of  most  of  our  officers  of  high  rank — had  much  to  do 
with  this,  in  my  estimation. 

So  wide  was  the  door  of  opportunity,  and  so  great 
the  need  of  consecrated  men  to  preach  Christ  in  the 
army,  that  I  often  wished  I  was  already  ordained  and 
commissioned  as  a  chaplain.  There  were  occasions 
when  I  was  mistaken  for  a  clergyman. 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  June  3d  that  we  received 
orders  to  break  camp  at  Hamilton's  Crossing,  cook 
three  days  rations,  and  take  up  the  line  of  march 
northward.  That  day  may  be  said  to  mark  the  open 
ing  of  the  Gettysburg  campaign,  although  it  does  not 
appear  that  General  Lee  had  yet  formed  his  plans 
with  definiteness  —  certainly  he  did  not  have  Gettys 
burg  in  his  eye  at  that  time. 

The  army  had  been  organized  into  three  corps, 
commanded  respectively  by  General  Longstreet,  Gen 
eral  Ewell,  and  General  A.  P.  Hill.  Longstreet  had 
now  his  whole  corps  present,  McLaws'  division,  which 
participated  so  effectively  in  the  battle  of  Chancellors- 
ville,  and  the  divisions  of  Hood  and  Pickett,  which, 


138  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

unfortunately  for  Lee,  had  been  at  Suffolk  and  did 
not  arrive  in  time,  as  Major-General  French,  in  his 
Memoir,  thinks  they  ought  to  have  done.  These  two 
divisions  only  were  transported  by  rail  direct  from 
Richmond  to  the  vicinity  of  Culpeper.  McLaws' 
division  marched  June  3d.  Swell's  corps  followed 
on  June  5th.  A.  P.  Hill's  was  left  at  Fredericksburg, 
to  make  Hooker  believe  that  Lee's  whole  army  was 
still  in  front  of  him  on  the  Rappahannock.  The  ruse 
succeeded. 

Our  division  took  up  the  line  of  march  June  5th  at 
two  A.M.  —  this  unusually  early  start  being  intended, 
I  suppose,  to  prevent  our  movement  being  discovered 
by  the  gentleman  who  daily  ascended  in  the  balloon 
to  spy  upon  us  and  report  to  General  Hooker.  We 
marched  in  the  following  order: 

The  2d  Brigade,  General  Jones; 

The  4th  Brigade,  General  Nicholls; 

The  3d  Brigade,  General  Steuart; 

The  1st  Brigade  (Stonewall) ; 

all  under  command  of  Gen.  Edward  Johnson,  a  vigor 
ous  man  and  a  stalwart  fighter.  Marching  by  way  of 
Massaponax  Church  and  Spottsylvania  Court  House, 
we  halted  several  hours  at  the  latter  place  to  let 
Early's  division,  also  of  Swell's  corps,  pass  us.  In 
spite  of  our  very  early  start  we  made  only  fifteen  miles 
and  went  into  camp  about  2.30  P.M. 

Next  day  reveille  sounded  at  three  A.M.  and  by  four 
A.M.  we  were  in  line,  but  received  countermarching 
orders  and  returned  to  camp. 

About  this  time  General  Pleasanton,  in  command  of 
Hooker's  whole  cavalry  force,  was  making  prepara 
tions  for  crossing  the  Rappahannock  and  attacking 


OPENING  OF  THE  GETTYSBURG  CAMPAIGN        139 

"Jeb"  Stuart,  who,  with  the  bulk  of  the  Confederate 
cavalry,  was  camped  near  Brandy  Station  on  the  Rap- 
idan.  It  is  just  possible  some  rumor  of  this  movement 
may  have  reached  our  commander  and  this  may  account 
for  our  countermarching.  However,  by  three  P.M. 
we  were  again  in  motion,  and  we  "  marched  till  night 
.  .  .  and  were  overtaken  by  a  violent  rainstorm. " 

June  7th  we  marched  at  4.30  A.M.  and  struck  the 
Plank  road  fourteen  miles  from  Orange  Court  House. 
Verdiersville  lay  in  our  route  and  here  "we  filed  right 
and  took  the  road  to  Raccoon  Ford,  nine  miles  distant. 
The  weather  was  fine,  the  roads  excellent,  the  men  in 
good  spirits,  but  they  have  had  no  rations."  One  of 
them  remarked  good-humoredly,  "They  put  a  fellow 
in  the  guard-house  now  for  taking  a  drink  of  water; 
and  as  to  eating  —  that's  out  of  the  question."  The 
same  day  we  crossed  the  Rapidan,  not  at  Raccoon,  but 
at  Somerville  Ford,  in  the  usual  Confederate  way. 
No  pontoons  for  us! 

June  8th.  Reveille  at  four,  marched  at  six,  passed 
through  Culpeper  Court  House  at  10.30  A.M.,  and 
camped  at  three  P.M. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  I  began  to  become  acquainted 
with  Rev.  Geo.  Patterson,  chaplain  of  the  Third  North 
Carolina  Regiment,  who  had  two  conversations  with 
Duncan  McKim,  and  administered  to  him  the  holy 
communion  the  Sunday  before  he  fell.  Though  I 
was  on  the  staff,  he  asked  me  if  I  was  a  clergyman  - 
some  of  the  officers  had  told  him  so.  That  evening 
at  dusk,  in  the  tent  of  Major  Parsley  of  his  regiment, 
we  solaced  ourselves  by  singing  songs.  Patterson 
was  present.  I  found  the  men  all  much  attached  to 
him  —  malgre  his  eccentricities  and  his  very  rigid 


140  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

churchmanship.  He  was  a  true  and  a  brave  man  and 
did  his  duty  faithfully  as  he  understood  it.  Before  the 
war  he  had  been  a  chaplain  on  a  plantation  of  North 
Carolina,  where  there  were  500  negroes,  of  whom  180 
were  communicants  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  The 
master  paid  him  a  salary  of  $3,000  a  year  for  his  ser 
vices  as  chaplain.  "  Their  chapel  was  too  small  to  hold 
them  at  daily  morning  and  evening  prayer."  Though 
they  could  not  read,  they  joined  earnestly  in  the  re 
sponses,  having  committed  them  to  memory.  He  had 
also  taught  them  one  or  two  of  the  Psalms,  so  that 
they  repeated  them  responsively  in  the  service.  By 
the  master's  orders  no  work  was  done  on  fast  days  or 
feast  days,  nor  of  course  on  Sundays.  Such  was  Pat 
terson's  influence  over  them  that  the  previous  winter 
he  had  "  brought  away  175  of  them  out  of  the  Federal 
lines,  under  shell  fire  and  without  any  guard,  and 
entirely  of  their  own  accord."  He  told  them  Lincoln 
had  made  them  all  free,  but  had  no  right  to  do  it, 
and  they  would  be  sinful  to  leave  their  masters,  but 
could  do  as  they  chose.  And  I  was  told  that  not  one 
of  the  500  ran  away. 

Tuesday,  June  9th,  was  an  eventful  day.  As  we 
marched  toward  Sperryville,  cannonading  was  heard 
in  the  direction  of  Culpeper  Court  House.  We  halted 
instantly  and  soon  orders  came  to  march  back.  This 
was  about  three  in  the  afternoon.  General  Pleasan- 
ton  after  a  night  march  had  crossed  the  Rappahannock 
at  two  points  with  the  intention  of  destroying  General 
Stuart's  cavalry,  which  was  massed  in  Culpeper  County. 
In  a  very  severe  fight,  characterized  by  great  gallantry 
on  both  sides,  our  superb  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  had  routed 
both  of  Pleasanton's  brigades  and  captured  a  good 


OPENING  OF  THE  GETTYSBURG  CAMPAIGN        141 

deal  of  his  artillery  and  hundreds  of  his  troopers. 
Again,  as  at  Chancellorsville,  General  Stuart  showed 
a  very  high  degree  of  skill  in  handling  his  brigades. 
Owing  to  the  thick  fog  on  the  river,  the  Federal  cavalry 
were  able  to  cross  without  being  discovered,  and  the 
Confederates  were  taken  by  surprise;  but  by  the  valor 
of  the  officers  and  men,  both  of  the  cavalry  and  artil 
lery,  and  by  the  brilliant  leadership  of  their  chief,  the 
tide  of  battle  was  turned,  and  both  Gregg  and  Buford 
driven  back  over  the  river,  Stuart  having  beaten  them 
in  detail. 

It  was  a  hard-fought  battle  —  this  of  Brandy  Sta 
tion.  "General  Gregg's  battery  was  captured  and 
recaptured  several  times."  Doubtless  it  was  to  guard 
against  the  possible  emergency  of  Stuart's  defeat  that 
our  brigade  was  ordered  back  toward  Culpeper, 

Notwithstanding  these  stirring  events,  we  had  eyes 
for  the  beautiful  scenery  through  which  we  were  pass 
ing,  as  the  following  extract  shows: 

CAMP  NEAR  CULPEPER, 

June  9,  1863. 
To  MY  MOTHER: 

We  left  Fredericksburg,  as  you  know,  on  Friday  and  have 
been  on  the  march  ever  since  until  to-day.  We  came  through 
Spottsylvania  C.  H.  and  struck  the  plank  road  to  Orange 
a  few  miles  from  Verdiersville.  There  we  turned  off  to  the 
right  and  took  the  road  to  Somerville  Ford,  which  is  a  few 
miles  above  Raccoon  Ford  on  the  Rapidan.  This  brought 
us  through  a  beautiful  country  and  we  began  to  catch 
glimpses  of  the  distant  Blue  Ridge.  The  view  from  the  crest 
of  the  hills  which  extend  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Rapidan 
was  enchanting.  The  ground  sinks  almost  precipitately 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  river.  The  river  itself  was 


142  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

swollen  from  the  recent  rain,  and  the  water  as  red  as  Albe- 
marle  soil.  The  banks  on  either  side  were  lined  with  wil 
lows  which  dipped  their  branches  in  the  stream  and  made 
a  beautiful  feature  in  the  landscape.  Just  above  the  ford 
there  was  a  waterfall  and  an  old  mill  in  the  last  stages  of 
decay.  The  north  bank  rises  more  gradually.  Just  upon 
the  summit  of  a  little  knoll  opposite  the  ford  two  tall  chimneys 
mark  the  spot  where  once  stood  a  large  old-fashioned  country 
house.  From  this  point  the  ground  ascends  very  gently 
and  broad  fertile  fields  lie  on  either  side  of  the  road,  with 
here  and  there  a  pretty  white  cottage.  Beyond  rises  the 
Piedmont  Range  and  the  dim  blue  mountains  form  the  back 
ground.  You  can  better  imagine  than  I  describe,  how 
beautiful  the  aspect  which  was  spread  out  beneath  us  for 
miles  as  we  reached  the  crest  of  the  range  of  hills  I  have 
described.  Now  cast  your  eye  down  the  road  that  leads 
to  the  ford  and  see  that  dense  column  of  men  stretching 
down  to  the  river,  across  its  swollen  current  up  the  farther 
bank,  and  extending  for  miles  until  lost  where  the  road 
enters  a  thick  grove  of  trees.  Many  of  the  men  took  off 
shoes  and  stockings,  but  some  regiments  marched  straight 
through  without  breaking  ranks.  The  water  was  nearly 
waist  deep,  but  the  men  pushed  on  with  shouts,  in  fine 
spirits.  It  was  one  of  the  most  picturesque  scenes  I  have 
ever  witnessed,  and  the  second  of  the  kind  in  which  I  have 
borne  a  part  since  the  war  began.  It  was  Sunday,  but  the 
air  was  fresh  and  cool,  the  roads  in  splendid  order,  and  I 
enjoyed  the  march  very  much.  .  .  .  The  orders  about  rails 
have  been  very  strict  and  the  general  ordered  me  to  go 
through  every  regiment  in  the  brigade  and  see  if  there 
was  a  single  rail  taken,  and  if  so,  to  make  the  men  carry 
it  back  to  the  fence.  It  was  a  very  disagreeable  duty,  and, 
I  felt,  put  me  in  the  light  of  a  spy  before  the  men.  Still, 
I  made  no  complaint,  but  rode  up  and  down  our  five  regi 
ments,  among  the  poor  weary  fellows,  and  executed  his  order 
faithfully.  When  I  returned,  and  had  unsaddled  and  un- 


OPENING  OF  THE  GETTYSBURG  CAMPAIGN         143 

bridled,  I  reported  to  the  general,  and  he  ordered  me  to 
saddle  up  again  and  ride  through  the  wagon  yard  and  search 
for  rails.  This  provoked  me,  and  the  discomforts  of  our 
mess  arrangements  added  to  my  vexation,  and  induced  me  to 
write  as  I  did.  Let  me  tell  you  now  what  a  good  dinner 
we  had  yesterday.  I  exchanged  a  pound  of  sugar  for  more 
than  half  a  pound  of  fresh  butter  and  a  quart  and  a  half 
of  buttermilk.  Then  we  had  some  bread  toasted  and  some 
black-eyed  peas  boiled  and  some  ham  fried,  and  though  we 
ate  with  our  pen-knives,  we  enjoyed  it  very  much. 

June  10th  we  resumed  our  march,  but  not  till  four 
P.M.,  and  at  dark  were  only  fourteen  miles  beyond  Cul- 
peper  Court  House,  and  six  miles  this  side  of  Sperry- 
ville. 

June  llth  we  again  had  an  early  reveille  and  marched 
at  4.30  A.M.,  passing  through  Sperryville  and  Little 
Washington,  and  making  camp  at  1.30  P.M.,  having 
made  sixteen  miles. 

Friday,  June  12th,  we  had  reveille  at  three,  and  at 
4.30  A.M.  took  up  our  march  via  Flint  Hill  for  Front 
Royal,  where  we  arrived  at  two  P.M. 

"Dined  luxuriously  (!)  with  Samuels,  inspector  of  our 
brigade.  At  four  we  crossed  the  Shenandoah  on  Confed 
erate  pontoons  —  that  is,  by  wading  straight  through  in 
column  of  fours.  Forded  both  branches,  the  men  cheering 
and  in  fine  spirits.  I  never  saw  a  ford  so  well  made.  The 
march  has  been  remarkable,  scarcely  any  stragglers.  Made 
twenty-three  miles  to-day  and  two  fords.  Halted  fourteen 

miles  from  Winchester  at  dark.     Supped  with  Mrs. , 

a  very  pretty  and  very  rebellious  lady!  Probability  of  a 
fight  to-morrow.  Held  prayers!" 

This  march  of  E well's  corps  was  remarkable  in  sev 
eral  respects.  In  the  first  place  four  brigades  of  infan- 


144  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

try  with  baggage  and  ordnance  trains  had  marched 
from  Fredericksburg  to  Winchester  in  seven  days, 
though  one  day  had  been  lost  by  a  countermarch. 
(The  itinerary  I  have  given  shows  a  succession  of  very 
early  starts  from  two  A.M.  to  four  A.M.)  In  the  next 
place,  the  movement  was  so  well  planned  and  carried  out 
that  the  Federal  commander-in-chief  had  no  idea  that 
Ewell  had  left  his  camp  at  Hamilton's  Crossing.  Stu 
art's  cavalry  screened  the  inception  of  the  movement 
and  after  we  got  a  good  start  the  Blue  Ridge  masked 
our  march.  That  so  large  a  force  should  have  been 
withdrawn  from  General  Hooker's  front  without  his 
having  an  inkling  of  it,  in  spite  of  his  balloon,  and 
that  this  force  should  have  marched  from  the  Rappa- 
hannock  River  to  the  lower  valley  without  being  dis 
covered  by  the  Federal  scouts,  is  truly  astonishing. 
It  is  not  creditable  to  General  Hooker,  or  to  his  chief 
of  cavalry,  General  Pleasanton,  or  to  his  chief  of 
scouts,  whoever  he  was. 

And  now  Ewell  was  preparing  to  swoop  down  upon 
General  Milroy,  like  an  eagle  on  his  unsuspecting  prey. 
That  officer  was  in  command  of  an  army  of  9,000  men, 
and  was  occupying  Winchester,  which  he  had  strongly 
fortified.  He  did  not  dream  that  any  of  Lee's  infantry 
had  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge.  He  had  been  warned  of 
a  possible  raid  by  Stuart's  cavalry,  but  that  he  did  not 
fear.  Indeed  for  weeks  the  minds  of  Hooker  and  Pleas 
anton  seem  to  have  been  wholly  preoccupied  by  that 
cavalry  raid  of  Stuart,  which  they  were  certain  he  was 
preparing.  The  way  in  which  this  idea  held  them 
amounted  almost  to  an  obsession. 

As  to  the  advance  of  Lee's  army,  which  had  been 
going  on  for  a  week,  this  is  what  Milroy  says  in 


OPENING  OF  THE  GETTYSBURG  CAMPAIGN        145 

his  self-exculpation  for  being  caught  napping  by 
Ewell: 

"I  deemed  it  impossible  that  Lee's  army  with  its 
immense  artillery  and  baggage  trains  could  have 
escaped  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  crossed 
the  Blue  Ridge  through  Ashby's,  Chester's,  and  Thorn 
ton's  Gap,  in  concentric  columns.  The  movement 
must  have  occupied  four  or  five  days;  notice  of  its 
being  in  progress  could  have  been  conveyed  to  me  by 
General  Hooker's  headquarters  in  five  minutes,  for 
telegraphic  communication  still  existed  between  Balti 
more  and  Winchester." 

But  no  notice  or  warning  of  Ewell's  approach  came 
to  him,  and  when  on  the  12th  he  sent  out  the  12th 
Pennsylvania  Cavalry  on  a  reconnoissance  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Front  Royal,  and  its  commanding  officer  re 
ported  to  Milroy  that  at  Cedarville,  about  twelve 
miles  from  Winchester,  he  encountered  a  large  force 
of  the  enemy  composed  of  cavalry,  infantry,  and 
artillery,  —  the  general  discredited  the  report. 

Out  of  this  false  security  the  Federal  general  at 
Winchester  was  rudely  awakened  by  the  guns  of  Ewell 
on  June  13th  about  11.30  A.M.  Our  brigade  moved 
at  4.30  A.M.,  our  men  much  fatigued.  We  were  to 
support  the  Stonewall  Brigade. 

"Early  begins  the  attack  on  the  Strasburg  road.  Occa 
sional  artillery  firing  all  day.  Heavy  rain  in  the  after 
noon  [which  probably  delayed  operations].  About  nine  P.M. 
I  was  ordered  to  post  three  companies  on  picket  on  our 
right  flank.  It  was  very  dark  and  stormy,  and  having  with 
difficulty  got  the  men  together,  I  led  them  through  the 
thick  undergrowth  and  at  last  struck  the  road.  Became 
thoroughly  drenched  and  much  fatigued.  With  ditches, 


146  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

fences  woods  to  obstruct,  I  did  not  finish  my  task  till  eleven 
o'clock,  when  I  regained  camp  only  by  the  sagacity  of  my 
horse.  Slept  in  the  rain  covered  by  a  wet  blanket. 

"  As  usual,  Sunday  was  the  day  of  the  real  battle.  Though 
we  expected  to  be  in  the  assault  on  Milroy's  strong  works, 
it  fell  to  the  lot  of  Early 's  Brigade  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  fort  to  do  this.  It  was  a  picturesque  battle.  Early's 
Artillery  opened  vigorously  on  the  north  of  the  forts.  We 
could  see  the  flash  of  his  guns,  sixteen  discharges  per  minute, 
while  the  Stars  and  Stripes  waved  defiantly  amid  the  bursting 
shells  in  the  rolling  smoke,  the  sun  sinking  red  and  angry 
behind  the  western  clouds,  the  advance  and  retreat  of  the 
skirmishers  with  the  sharp  crack  of  the  rifle,  while  cavalry 
and  artillery  gallop  into  position  and  infantry  file  in  column. 
This,  with  the  frowning  line  of  breastworks  along  the  range 
of  hills  on  the  left  of  the  Martinsburg  road,  forms  a  scene 
I  have  leisure  to  admire  and  note  down,  as  I  sit  on  my  horse 
on  an  eminence  comparatively  safe  from  danger." 

The  rebel  yell  of  Early 's  men,  as  they  charged  posi 
tion  after  position,  could  be  plainly  heard  above  the 
din  of  battle.  Our  own  brigade  had  taken  a  position 
east  of  the  forts  and  the  Martinsburg  road  and  north 
east  of  Winchester,  where  we  could  protect  the  right 
flank  of  our  division.  We  were  expecting  every  moment 
to  be  ordered  forward,  but  the  order  did  not  come,  and 
at  no  time  during  the  battle  were  we  heavily  engaged. 
I  heard  some  of  our  men  chaffing  and  joking  about 
the  expected  charge.  One  said,  "When  we  charge 
the  intrenchments,  boys,  recollect  the  crackers  inside." 
"Yes,"  replied  his  comrade,  "but  they'll  serve  out 
rations  of  ammunition  to  us  first."  A  third  "jolly 
Reb"  took  up  the  conversation  with  the  remark,  "Well, 
if  Mr.  Early's  gang  and  Mr.  Rodes'  gang  would  charge 
those  works  without  us  I  wouldn't  mind."  Then 


OPENING  OF  THE  GETTYSBURG  CAMPAIGN        147 

another,  "It's  a  lottery  business,  if  we  go  in."  "Yes," 
was  the  rejoinder,  "and  some  of  us  will  draw  a  capital 
prize.77 

I  give  this  as  a  sample  of  the  way  our  men  would 
crack  jokes  with  one  another  on  the  very  edge  of  battle. 
The  fighting  continued  after  the  sun  had  disappeared. 
The  flashes  of  the  guns  in  the  succeeding  darkness 
produced  a  lurid,  weird  effect.  The  operations  of  the 
day  had  given  us  possession  of  the  outer  defences  of 
Milroy's  position.  It  remained  to  complete  on  the 
following  day  the  work  so  well  begun. 

But  would  the  Federal  general,  thus  hemmed  in 
by  superior  forces,  wait  to  be  attacked  next  morning? 
There  was  apprehension  that  he  would  make  an  effort 
during  the  night  to  withdraw  his  forces. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  BATTLE  OF  STEPHENSON's  DEPOT 

TN  anticipation  of  such  an  attempt  as  referred  to  at 
-*•  the  close  of  the  preceding  chapter,  the  brigade  of 
General  Steuart  moved,  as  soon  as  night  set  in  on  Sun 
day,  June  14th,  down  the  Berry ville  pike  to  its  junc 
tion  with  the  road  to  Jordan's  Springs,  where  it  turned 
head  of  column  left  so  as  to  strike  the  Winchester  and 
Martinsburg  pike  at  a  point  about  four  and  a  quarter 
miles  from  the  former  place,  at  Stephenson's  Depot. 

Here,  at  3.30  A.M.,  a  halt  was  made  at  a  wooden 
bridge  which  carried  the  road  across  the  railroad  cut, 
about  400  yards  from  the  Martinsburg  pike,  which 
ran  at  right  angles  to  the  road.  Gen.  Edward  Johnson, 
our  division  commander,  rode  across  the  bridge  with 
some  staff  officers  to  reconnoitre.  I  happened  to  be 
in  front  and  was  thus  the  first  to  discern  in  the  dim  dusk 
of  early  morning  the  approach  of  a  column  of  the 
enemy's  cavalry.  The  leading  files  fired  and  wheeled, 
and  I  sent  a  pistol  shot  after  them.  The  expectation 
of  our  officers  was  justified  —  Milroy  had  evacuated 
the  forts  and  was  retreating  to  Harper's  Ferry.  There 
ensued  a  severe  and  hotly  contested  engagement. 
General  Milroy  had  his  whole  force  behind  him,  while 
only  part  of  one  of  Johnson's  brigades  was  up,  viz., 
our  own,  with  a  strength  of  less  than  2,000  men,  a 
battery  of  artillery  and  no  cavalry.  At  first,  indeed, 

148 


BATTLE  OF  STEPHENSON'S  DEPOT      149 

we  had  less  than  half  that  number  in  position  to  con 
test  the  advance  of  the  enemy. 

Our  infantry  was  at  once  formed  in  the  railroad 
cut  to  the  right  and  left  of  the  bridge  just  mentioned. 
The  enemy  came  bravely  on  in  our  front,  cheering  and 
firing.  Their  fire  passed  for  the  most  part  over  the 
heads  of  our  infantry  posted  in  the  railroad  cut,  and 
partially  protected  by  the  embankment,  but  the  gen 
eral  and  staff  officers  on  horseback  on  the  nearer  side 
of  the  railroad  cut  were  much  exposed.  The  Tenth 
Virginia  and  the  First  and  Third  North  Carolina  regi 
ments  alone  stood  the  brunt  of  the  first  attacks,  until 
our  battery  of  artillery  arrived  (Dement's),  when  two 
guns  were  unlimbered  on  a  slope  in  rear  of  our  line 
and  to  the  left  of  the  road,  while  the  intrepid  officer  in 
command  pushed  one  gun  forward  and  planted  it  on 
the  bridge  flush  with  our  firing  line,  and  another  to  the 
left  and  rear.  Both  these  pieces  were  in  easy  musket 
shot  of  the  enemy.  Our  artillery  fire  demoralized  the 
enemy  a  great  deal,  as  they  could  not  reply,  having 
abandoned  all  their  artillery  in  the  Winchester  forts  in 
their  retreat.  After  the  failure  of  their  first  and  second 
frontal  attacks  on  the  bridge,  they  sought  to  turn  our 
left  flank  by  a  force  of  cavalry  and  infantry  which 
General  Johnson,  "old  Alleghany"  as  he  was  called, 
met  by  forming  a  line  perpendicular  to  our  front  line 
with  part  of  the  Louisiana  Brigade  which  had  just 
come  up.  I  can  see  him  now,  as  I  write,  riding  up  and 
down,  vehemently  giving  orders,  and  waving  the  big 
cane  which  he  carried  instead  of  a  sword,  because  of 
the  lameness  which  resulted  from  his  wound  at  the 
battle  of  Alleghany.  His  bravery  and  regardlessness 
of  danger  was  an  inspiration  to  the  men,  who  responded 


150  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

with  alacrity  to  his  example.  The  staff  officers  had  a 
busy  time  in  carrying  out  the  orders  of  our  chiefs  at 
this  stage  of  the  battle.  It  was  now  that  I  had  a  nar 
row  escape.  In  riding  from  our  centre  to  the  left 
flank  I  rode  a  little  too  high  on  the  slope  occupied  by 
our  artillery  before  mentioned,  when,  at  one  of  the 
discharges,  a  solid  shot  from  one  of  our  guns  passed 
so  close  to  my  head  that  the  wind  of  it  almost  knocked 
me  from  my  horse. 

While  this  effort  to  turn  our  left  flank  was  still  in 
progress,  Milroy  made  a  vigorous  attack  upon  our  right, 
which  rested  in  a  wood,  and  was  " refused"  at  a  sharp 
angle  toward  our  rear.  Thus  we  were  assailed  in 
front  and  on  both  flanks,  and  for  some  time  our  right, 
was  in  great  danger,  until  the  old  Stonewall  Brigade, 
arriving  in  the  nick  of  time,  saved  the  position  there. 

The  centre  now  engrossed  our  attention,  for  the 
enemy  were  making  desperate  efforts  to  break  through 
at  the  bridge.  The  situation  was  serious,  for  the  am 
munition  of  the  Third  Brigade  was  all  but  exhausted  - 
one  round  only  left.  That  little  wooden  bridge  wit 
nessed  one  of  the  most  superb  displays  of  dauntless 
intrepidity  that  was  seen  during  the  whole  war.  The 
men  serving  the  piece  planted  there  were  fearfully 
exposed.  It  was  the  key  of  our  position,  and  the  fire 
of  the  enemy  was  especially  directed  to  disabling  that 
gun,  which  had  so  long  held  them  at  bay.  Lieut. 
C.  S.  Contee  was  in  command.  His  men  fell  around 
him  till  all  were  killed  or  wounded  but  himself  and 
one  other,  but  they  continued  undauntedly  serving 
their  piece  in  its  perilous  position,  unsupported  except 
by  a  line  of  bayonets  below  in  the  railway  cut.  At 
every  discharge  the  recoil  carried  the  gun  almost  over 


BATTLE  OF  STEPHENSON'S  DEPOT       151 

the  side  of  the  bridge,  but  before  it  could  roll  over, 
these  brave  men  were  at  the  wheel  rolling  it  back  into 
its  place.  Two  sets  of  cannoneers,  thirteen  out  of 
sixteen,  were  killed  and  disabled. 

But  now  Lieutenant  Contee's  leg  was  broken,  and 
there  was  but  one  man  left  (he  is  living  to-day),  and 
he  could  not  serve  the  gun  alone.  The  enemy  were 
pressing  forward  in  another  determined  charge  when 
Lieutenant  Morgan  and  I  came  to  the  help  of  the  one 
hero  remaining  on  the  bridge  unhurt.1  I  had  seen  the 
desperate  situation  of  the  gun  and  had  ridden  up  as 
rapidly  as  my  tired  horse  could  carry  me  to  see  if  I 
could  render  any  help.  Springing  from  my  horse 
and  throwing  the  reins  over  the  arm  of  a  poor  fellow 
lying  wounded  in  the  fence  corner,  I  ran  to  the  caisson, 
and  taking  four  canister  shot  in  my  arms,  ran  up  the 
bank  to  the  bridge  where  Morgan  met  me.  Together, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  one  cannoneer,  we  served 
the  Federals  with  grape  and  canister  just  in  time  to 
smash  up  their  charge  and  save  the  bridge.  They  were 
within  less  than  forty  yards  of  it.  I  then  mounted  my 
horse  (who  was  wild  with  excitement)  and  set  out 

1 1  append  an  extract  from  the  Report  of  Major-Gen.  Edward 
Johnson,  Rebellion  Records,  vol.  xxvu.,  p.  502.  "  Before  closing  this 
report,  I  beg  leave  to  state  that  I  have  never  seen  superior  artillery 
practice  to  that  of  Andrew's  battalion  in  this  engagement  and  especially 
the  section  under  Lieutenant  (C.S  )  Contee  (Dement's  battery), 
one  gun  of  which  was  placed  on  the  bridge  above  referred  to,  and  the 
other  a  little  to  the  left  and  rear.  Both  pieces  were  very  much  exposed 
during  the  whole  action.  Four  successive  attempts  were  made  to 
carry  the  bridge.  Two  sets  of  cannoneers  (13  out  of  16)  were  killed 
and  disabled.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Andrews  and  Lieutenant  Contee, 
whose  gallantry  calls  for  special  mention,  fell  wounded  at  this  point. 
Lieutenant  John  A.  Morgan,  First  North  Carolina  Regiment,  and 
Lieutenant  Randolph  H.  McKim  took  the  place  of  the  disabled  cannon 
eers,  rendering  valuable  assistance,  deserving  special  mention." 


152  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

in  a  full  run  for  reinforcements.  Meeting  two  regi 
ments  of  Nichol's  Brigade,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Williams,  I  cried  to  them  to  hurry  forward  and  save 
their  comrades  and  the  fortunes  of  the  day  at  the 
bridge.  The  Louisianians  readily  responded,  but  their 
commanding  officer,  "  thinking  it  best  not  to  expose 
himself,"  declined  to  accept  orders  from  me,  which 
of  course  he  had  a  perfect  right  to  do.  Whether  he 
ought  to  have  refused  my  appeal  is  another  question. 
General  Steuart  was  on  the  right  and  Major-General 
Johnson  on  the  left.  In  the  centre  there  was  no  gen 
eral  officer,  so  there  was  no  one  who  could  command 
the  regiments  to  move  forward.  At  length  they 
responded  to  my  appeal,  however,  and  moved  forward 
to  support  the  Third  Brigade,  but  by  this  time  the 
enemy  had  had  enough  of  Morgan's  canister  and  gave 
over  the  attempt  to  capture  the  bridge. 

Captain  Garrison  now  went  to  the  rear  after  the 
ammunition  wagons,  and  was  nearly  captured  by  a 
body  of  the  enemy  which  had  gotten  in  our  rear  between 
us  and  our  wagon  train.  Fortunately  they  were  only 
intent  on  making  their  escape. 

By  this  time  our  whole  division  was  up,  and  the 
advantage  in  numbers,  which  for  several  hours  had  been 
with  the  Federals,  was  now  with  us.  The  Stonewall 
Brigade  on  our  right,  led  by  General  Walker,  now 
charged  with  a  yell  and  swept  the  enemy  before  them. 
Beaten  back  at  every  point  and  unable  to  break  our 
lines,  the  enemy  in  our  front  surrendered.  The  num 
ber  of  prisoners  captured  in  this  battle  was  upward 
of  3,000.  Total  here  and  at  Winchester  more  than 
4,000.  Also  a  train  of  about  200  wagons,  22  pieces 
of  artillery  (taken  at  Winchester):  viz.,  15  three-inch 


BATTLE  OF  STEPHENSON'S  DEPOT       153 

rifles,  5  twenty-pound  Parrott  guns,  and  2  eighteen- 
pounder  howitzers.  The  enemy's  loss  at  Stephenson's 
Depot,  in  killed  and  wounded,  was  heavy,  ours  much 
less.  General  Milroy  with  his  cavalry  succeeded  in 
making  his  escape.  Colonel  Mosby,  in  his  recent  book, 
says  Ewell  had  plenty  of  cavalry.  If  so,  I  never  saw 
them,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  General  Ewell  did  not  dis 
cover  them  and  send  them  to  intercept  Milroy  on  this 
occasion. 

Thus  the  battle  of  Stephenson's  Depot  terminated 
successfully  for  Ewell  —  disastrously  to  Milroy.  The 
operations  of  the  13th,  14th,  and  15th  were  a  complete 
surprise  to  the  authorities  in  Washington.  As  late 
as  the  14th  a  telegram  from  General  Halleck  informed 
General  Schenck  that  it  was  "  reported  that  Long- 
street's  and  Swell's  Corps  had  passed  through  Cul- 
peper  Court  House  in  the  direction  of  the  Valley."  In 
fact  Longstreet  was  still  encamped  in  Culpeper  County 
on  the  14th  of  June,  and  it  was  not  till  the  15th,  the  day 
of  the  battle  at  Stephenson's  Depot,  that  his  three 
divisions  —  Hood's,  McLaws',  and  Pickett's  —  took 
up  the  line  of  march  northward.  But  though  this 
affair  ended  in  disaster  to  Milroy,  it  was  a  close  call. 
G.  H.  Steuart's  Brigade  arrived  at  the  bridge  in  the  nick 
of  time.  One  hour  later,  or  even  half  an  hour,  would 
have  been  too  late.  And  it  was  with  great  difficulty 
Steuart  was  able  to  hold  his  own  against  Milroy's 
determined  attacks  with  superior  numbers  during 
the  first  hour  of  the  engagement.  But  for  the  heroism 
of  those  Maryland  cannoneers  serving  the  gun  on  the 
bridge  and  the  other  near  by,  Milroy's  infantry  must 
have  broken  through  and  escaped,  with  disastrous 
results  to  the  Third  Brigade.  They  stood  to  their  guns 


154  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

till  fifteen  out  of  sixteen  fell,  and  even  then  the  one 
man  remaining  on  the  bridge  would  not  give  up  the 
gun.  But  the  question  arises,  Ought  such  a  risk  to 
have  been  incurred?  If  there  was  apprehension  that 
the  enemy  would  try  to  escape  by  that  road,  ought 
not  at  least  two  or  three  brigades  have  been  there  to 
meet  him,  instead  of  one?  The  others  were  so  far 
back  that  they  arrived  almost  too  late  to  save  that 
one  from  disaster. 

All  honor  to  the  men  of  Steuart's  Brigade  for  what 
they  did  that  morning.  I  visited  the  battle  field 
many  years  after,  and  thought  I  recognized  the  very 
fence  corner  where  the  wounded  soldier  lay  who  allowed 
me  to  hitch  my  horse  to  his  arm,  while  I  ran  to  Contee's 
help  on  the  bridge.  Some  three  years  ago  I  was 
attending  the  decoration  of  the  graves  of  the  Confed 
erate  dead  in  Arlington  Cemetery,  and  was  sitting  on 
the  platform  waiting  for  my  turn  to  speak,  when  an 
arm  was  thrust  up  from  the  crowd  below  and  my 
hand  warmly  grasped.  The  owner,  looking  up,  said, 
"I  was  one  of  the  men  lying  wounded  on  the  bridge 
that  day  at  Stephenson's,  when  you  came  up." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE   MARCH   TO   GETTYSBURG 

ON  Wednesday,  June  17th,  at  two  P.M.  we  took  up 
our  line  of  march  northward,  halting  at  Smith- 
field,  and  marching  again  next  morning  at  four.  This  I 
have  noted  as  a  "very  oppressive  march"  -probably 
because  of  the  heat.  We  crossed  the  Potomac  near 
Shepherdstown  on  Thursday  about  half  past  two. 
My  chief,  Gen.  G.  H.  Steuart,  and  I  rode  side  by  side 
through  the  river,  and  our  horses'  feet  touched  the 
sacred  soil  of  our  native  State  at  the  same  moment;  but 
before  I  could  guess  his  intention  the  general  sprang 
from  his  horse,  and  dropping  on  his  hands  and  knees, 
kissed  the  ground.  This  act  of  his  was  the  expression 
of  a  feeling  of  love  and  loyalty  which  was  deep  and 
strong  in  the  hearts  of  us  all.  We  loved  Maryland. 
We  were  proud  of  her  history,  of  her  traditions.  We 
felt  that  she  was  in  bondage  against  her  will,  and  we 
burned  with  desire  to  have  part  in  liberating  her.  She 
had  not  seceded.  There  was  no  star  in  the  Confederate 
battle  flag  to  represent  Maryland.  But  we  believed,  in 
spite  of  the  division  of  sentiment  in  the  State,  that  if 
she  had  been  free  to  speak,  her  voice  would  have  been 
for  the  South.  At  the  very  inception  of  the  struggle, 
her  Legislature  had  been  invaded  by  the  military  arm, 
and  a  number  of  its  members  had  been  thrown  into 

155 


156  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

prison,  but  the  last  act  of  that  Legislature,  before  it 
was  deprived  of  its  liberty,  was  to  pass  a  resolution 
declaring  coercion  an  unconstitutional  act,  subversive 
of  freedom,  and  expressing  its  sympathy  with  the 
South  and  its  desire  for  the  recognition  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy. 

Marylanders  who  joined  the  Confederate  Army  are 
sometimes  blamed  for  their  act,  on  the  ground  that 
they  had  not  the  excuse  which  the  men  of  Virginia 
and  other  Southern  States  had,  that  they  were  obeying 
the  mandate  of  their  native  State  in  the  course  they 
pursued.  But  the  State  of  Maryland,  in  its  last  free 
utterance,  had  in  effect  forbidden  her  sons  to  aid  in 
the  subjugation  of  the  Southern  States,  on  pain  of  par 
taking  in  the  crime  of  subverting  liberty.  Had  we 
then  remained  at  home,  we  should  have  been  liable 
to  conscription  in  the  armies  raised  for  this  very  pur 
pose  —  the  subjugation  of  the  Southern  States.  Were 
we  not,  then,  justified  by  our  loyalty  to  our  State  in 
exiling  ourselves  from  Maryland  to  avoid  having  part 
in  a  service  which  she  had  branded  as  an  assault  on 
constitutional  liberty?  And  if  our  State  had  declared 
by  the  voice  of  her  Legislature  that  the  Southern  Con 
federacy  ought  to  be  recognized,  did  not  loyalty  to 
Maryland  justify  our  act  in  giving  what  aid  we  could 
for  the  establishment  of  the  independence  of  the 
Confederacy?  In  fact,  as  the  case  presented  itself  to 
our  minds,  we  were  compelled  to  choose  between  the 
love  of  the  Union  and  the  love  of  liberty.  We  could 
not  feel  ourselves  blameworthy,  because  we  preferred 
Liberty  without  Union  to  Union  without  Liberty.  I 
speak  now  of  what  we  believed  —  of  our  deep  and 
solemn  convictions.  Those  who  differ  with  us  may 


MARCH  TO  GETTYSBURG  157 

challenge,  if  they  will,  the  correctness  of  our  judgment; 
they  cannot  fairly  impeach  our  patriotism. 

Believing  as  we  did  that  the  war  was  a  war  of  sub 
jugation,  and  that  it  meant,  if  successful,  the  destruc 
tion  of  our  liberties,  the  issue  in  our  minds  was  clearly 
drawn  as  I  have  stated  it,  —  The  Union  without  Lib 
erty,  or  Liberty  without  the  Union.  And  if  we  are 
reminded  that  the  success  of  the  Federal  armies  did 
not  involve,  in  fact,  the  destruction  of  liberty,  I  answer 
by  traversing  that  statement,  and  pointing  out  that 
during  all  the  long  and  bitter  period  of  "  Recon 
struction,"  the  liberties  of  the  Southern  States  were 
completely  suppressed.  Representative  government 
existed  only  in  name.  In  the  end,  by  the  blessing  of 
God,  the  spirit  of  the  martyred  Lincoln  prevailed  over 
the  spirit  of  despotism  as  incarnated  in  Thaddeus 
Stevens  and  Charles  Sumner,  and  after  long  eclipse 
the  sun  of  liberty  and  self-government  again  shone 
south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line. 

There  were  not  less  than  twenty  thousand  Mary- 
landers  who  went  into  voluntary  exile  that  they  might 
fight  for  the  Southern  cause,  and  wherever  they  were, 
in  whatever  branch  of  the  service,  they  made  an  honor 
able  name  for  fortitude  and  valor.  Many  of  them 
rose  to  positions  of  distinction.  Maryland  furnished 
three  major-generals  to  the  Confederate  Army  and 
eleven  brigadiers.  I  may  repeat  here  what  I  have 
written  elsewhere,  that  "to  be  a  Confederate  soldier 
meant  for  the  Marylander,  in  addition  to  hardship  and 
danger,  exile  from  home  and  kindred.  It  meant  to 
be  cut  off  from  communication  with  father  and  mother, 
brother  and  sister,  and  wife.  It  meant  to  have  an  impen 
etrable  barrier  of  forts  and  armies  between  him  and  all 


158  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

he  loved  and  cherished  best  in  the  world.  Oh,  the  lone 
liness  of  the  Maryland  soldier  of  the  Confederate  Army 
on  his  solitary  post,  when  on  guard  duty  —  or  in  the 
silence  of  the  night  wrapped  in  his  blanket  under  the 
stars  —  or  lying  wounded  on  the  battle  field,  or  sick 
in  hospital!  Oh,  the  unutterable  longing  then  for  the 
faces  of  those  whom  he  had  left  behind!" 

It  was  natural,  then,  that  whenever  in  our  campaign 
ing  we  came  in  sight  of  the  hills  or  the  shores  of  Mary 
land,  our  men  would  be  wrought  up  to  a  high  degree 
of  excitement,  and  the  hope  would  leap  up  in  our  hearts 
that  we  might  soon  be  marching  triumphantly  to  our 
old  homes  again. 

The  Second  Maryland  Battalion  (successor  to  the  first 
regiment,  which  had  been  mustered  out  in  the  summer 
of  1862)  was  about  this  time  attached  to  Steuart's 
Brigade;  and  when  we  reached  Shepherdstown  on 
Thursday,  June  18th,  on  our  way  to  cross  into  Mary 
land,  it  was  given  the  front  of  the  column.  The  cit 
izens  of  the  town  —  especially  the  ladies  —  gave  us 
an  enthusiastic  reception.  The  general  and  all  his 
staff  had  bouquets  presented  them.  It  was  a  gala 
day  for  the  Maryland  men.  When  we  were  well  over 
the  river  and  had  gone  into  camp,  the  Maryland  bat 
talion  had  songs  and  great  rejoicings,  and  Lieut.  Jas. 
Franklin  made  an  appropriate  address.  I  made  this 
record : 

"  It  was  an  hour  full  of  hope  long  deferred,  and  now, 
actually  on  the  soil  of  my  native  State,  which  my  feet  have 
not  pressed  since  the  first  of  May,  1861,  I  find  it  difficult 
to  realize  that  it  is  not  all  a  dream." 

The  following  Sunday,  June  21st,  found  us  camped 
near  the  battle  ground  of  Sharpsburg,  which  had  been 


MARCH  TO  GETTYSBURG  159 

fought  Sept.  17th,  1862.  With  intense  interest  we 
recalled  the  thrilling  story  of  that  tremendous  conflict, 
the  bloodiest  of  the  war  up  to  that  time,  when  Lee, 
with  35,000  men,  held  his  ground  successfully  against 
McClellan  with  87,000,  in  that  fierce  struggle,  when 
American  manhood  on  both  sides  displayed  its  highest 
qualities  of  valor  and  intrepidity.  That  the  Federal 
general,  when  the  disposition  of  Lee's  several  corps 
was  revealed  to  him  by  the  mysteriously  intercepted 
despatch,  should  not  have  destroyed  the  Confederate 
Army  in  detail,  separated  as  its  two  wings  were,  must 
forever  tarnish  his  reputation  as  a  commander,  excel 
lent  as  he  was  as  an  organizer  and  as  a  tactician!  A 
study  of  this  battle  reveals  the  marvellous  intrepidity 
and  determination  of  General  Lee.  He  stands  out 
here  as  a  daring  and  aggressive  fighter,  second  in  these 
qualities  not  even  to  his  great  Lieutenant  Stonewall 
Jackson.  The  Council  of  War  at  the  close  of  the  battle 
vividly  reflects  this  fact.  Going  over  part  of  the  field, 
the  extreme  left  of  the  Confederate  position,  we  saw 
trees  that  had  been  cut  down  as  if  by  the  teeth  of  a 
saw  by  the  concentrated  musketry  fire,  —  silent  wit 
nesses  of  the  destructive  volleys  of  the  opposing  armies. 

The  same  morning  we  had  received  from  the  ladies 
of  Shepherdstown  a  battle  flag  for  our  brigade  head 
quarters.  The  women  in  that  town  were  always  dis 
tinguished  for  their  devotion  to  the  Confederate  cause. 
How  many  a  poor  fellow  was  their  debtor  for  help 
and  sympathy  in  time  of  need.  In  Sharpsburg,  too, 
we  were  pleased  to  find  decided  evidences  of  the  sym 
pathy  of  the  people. 

Looking  over  the  notes  which  I  kept  of  this  campaign 
in  a  little  pocket  note-book  about  four  inches  square  — 


160  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

kept  in  pencil,  by  the  way,  in  a  very  fine  hand  and  yet 
distinctly  legible  after  the  lapse  of  over  forty-five  years 
-I  am  impressed  anew  with  the  religious  suscepti 
bility  of  the  rank  and  file  of  Lee's  army.  I  find  fre 
quent  mention  of  religious  services  by  the  chaplains, 
and  of  prayer-meetings,  conducted  sometimes  by  my 
self.  Thus  the  day  after  we  crossed  the  Potomac  I 
"  at  tended  and  conducted  one  of  the  prayer-meetings 
of  the  Maryland  Regiment  with  much  pleasure." 

And  on  Sunday,  June  21st,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Patterson 
of  the  Third  North  Carolina  "held  service,  preached, 
and  administered  the  communion."  Again,  on  June 
22d,  Monday: 

"This  morning,  after  reading  and  praying  in  the  woods, 
I  saw  a  group  of  our  men  looking  at  some  soldiers'  graves, 
and,  with  their  permission,  read  (the  Bible)  and  prayed 
with  them." 

These  brave  men  who  followed  Lee  with  such  sub 
lime  devotion  felt  no  incompatibility  in  their  calling 
as  soldiers  with  the  profession  of  a  Christian.  They_ 
were  not  soldiers  of  fortune;  they  were  not  mercenaries; 
they  were  soldiers  of  duty.  And  they  were  not  waging 
a  war  of  aggression,  or  of  conquest,  but  of  self-defence. 
They  were  in  arms  to  protect  their  homes  and  their 
firesides  from  the  invader.  This  invasion  of  Pennsyl 
vania  on  which  they  were  entering  was  a  defensive 
operation.  It  was  to  draw  the  Federal  armies  out  of 
Virginia.  And  I  may  here  say  that  Lee's  army  strictly 
observed  the  order  of  their  noble  chief,  in  which  he 
charged  his  soldiers  not  to  molest  private  property. 
"The  duties  exacted  of  us,"  said  he,  "by  civilization 
and  Christianity  are  not  less  obligatory  in  the  coun- 


MARCH  TO  GETTYSBURG  161 

try  of  the  enemy  than  in  our  own."  Compare  with 
this  the  statement  of  General  Sherman  as  to  his 
famous  march  to  the  sea: 

"  I  estimate  the  damage  done  to  the  State  of  Georgia  at  one  hun 
dred  million  dollars,  at  least  twenty  millions  of  which  inured  to  our 
benefit,  and  the  remainder  was  simply  waste  and  destruction." 

Again  and  again  in  this  Pennsylvania  campaign  the 
citizens  told  us  that  we  treated  them  far  better  than 
their  own  soldiers  did.  I  can  truly  say  I  didn't  see  a 
fence  rail  burned  between  Hagerstown  and  Gettysburg. 

Supplies  of  cattle  and  other  necessaries  were  taken 
and  paid  for  in  Confederate  money,  the  only  money 
we  had.  Major  Harry  Gilmor,  in  his  account  of  this 
business  says,  "My  orders  were,  in  all  cases  where  the 
horses  had  not  been  run  off  and  hidden,  to  leave  a  pair 
of  plough  horses  to  each  family,  and  to  take  no  milch 
cows  at  all." 

Colonel  Fremantle  of  the  British  army  bears  testi 
mony  to  the  good  conduct  of  our  men.  He  says: 
"I  went  into  Chambersburg  and  witnessed  the  singu 
larly  good  behavior  of  the  troops  toward  the  citizens. 
...  To  one  who  has  seen,  as  I  have,  the  ravages  of 
the  Northern  troops  in  Southern  towns,  this  forbear 
ance  seems  most  commendable  and  surprising." 

I  append  General  Lee's  order  on  this  subject. 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA, 
Chambersburg,  Pa.,  June  27,  1863. 

GENERAL  ORDER  No.  73. 

"The  commanding  general  has  observed  with  marked  satisfaction 
the  conduct  of  the  troops  on  the  march,  and  confidently  anticipates 
results  commensurate  with  the  high  spirit  they  have  manifested.  No 
troops  could  have  displayed  greater  fortitude  or  better  performed  the 
arduous  marches  of  the  past  ten  days.  Their  conduct  in  other  respects 
has,  with  few  exceptions,  been  in  keeping  with  their  character  as  soldiers 
and  entitles  them  to  approbation  and  praise. 


162  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

"There  have,  however,  been  instances  of  forgetfulness  on  the  part 
of  some,  that  they  have  in  keeping  the  yet  unsullied  reputation  of  the 
army,  and  that  the  duties  exacted  of  us  by  civilization  and  Christianity 
are  not  less  obligatory  in  the  country  of  the  enemy  than  in  our  own. 
The  commanding  general  considers  that  no  greater  disgrace  could 
befall  the  army,  and  through  it  our  whole  people,  than  the  perpetration 
of  the  barbarous  outrages  upon  the  innocent  and  defenseless  and  the 
wanton  destruction  of  private  property  that  have  marked  the  course 
of  the  enemy  in  our  own  country.  Such  proceedings  not  only  disgrace 
the  perpetrators  and  all  connected  with  them,  but  are  subversive  of 
the  discipline  and  efficiency  of  the  army,  and  destructive  of  the  ends 
of  our  present  movements.  It  must  be  remembered  that  we  make  war 
only  on  armed  men,  and  that  we  cannot  take  vengeance  for  the  wrongs 
our  people  have  suffered,  without  lowering  ourselves  in  the  eyes  of  all 
whose  abhorrence  has  been  excited  by  the  atrocities  of  our  enemy, 
and  offending  against  Him  to  whom  vengeance  belongeth,  without 
whose  favor  and  support  our  efforts  will  prove  in  vain. 

"The  commanding  general,  therefore,  earnestly  exhorts  the  troops 
to  abstain,  with  most  scrupulous  care,  from  unnecessary  or  wanton 
injury  to  private  property,  and  he  enjoins  upon  all  officers  to  arrest 
and  bring  to  summary  punishment  all  who  shall  in  any  way  offend 
against  the  orders  on  this  subject. 

"R.  E.  LEE, 

"General." 

I  have  now  to  make  brief  mention  of  an  expedition 
under  Gen.  G.  H.  Steuart  to  McConnellsburg,  Fulton 
County,  Pennsylvania,  which  lies  beyond  the  Tusca- 
rora  Mountains,  which  constitute  the  western  boun 
dary  of  the  great  Cumberland  Valley  that  runs  from 
Hagerstown  to  Harrisburg.  A  glance  at  the  map 
will  show  that  McConnellsburg  is  as  far  west  of  Hagers 
town  as  Gettysburg  is  east  of  it;  that  its  latitude  is 
considerably  north  of  that  of  Gettysburg;  and  that 
in  order  to  reach  it,  General  Steuart 's  force  had  to  cross 
three  subsidiary  ranges  of  mountains. 

The  force  under  Steuart 's  command  consisted  of  the 
Third  Brigade  (which  included  now  the  Second  Mary 
land  infantry  in  addition  to  the  three  Virginia  regi- 


MARCH  TO  GETTYSBURG  163 

ments  and  the  two  North  Carolina  regiments),  a 
battery  of  artillery,  and  Major  Gilmor's  cavalry.  The 
column  moved  from  Sharpsburg  at  five  A.M.,  ^Tuesday, 
June  23d,  and  passed  through  Hagerstown  about  noon, 
receiving  there  an  enthusiastic  reception  from  the  ladies 
of  the  town.  "It  was  a  proud  day  for  the  Maryland 
men,  and  they  stepped  out  beautifully  to  the  tap  of  the 
drum."  Camp  was  made  five  miles  north  of  Hagers 
town  near  the  Pennsylvania  line  at  three  P.M.,  after 
a  march  of  seventeen  miles.  The  march  thence  to 
McConnellsburg,  a  distance  of  upward  of  twenty  miles, 
was  made  on  Wednesday,  by  way  of  Greencastle, 
Upton,  and  Mercersburg,  passing  through  two  gaps 
in  the  mountains.  When  we  were  already  eleven 
miles  on  our  march,  the  general  sent  me  back  to  Hagers 
town  after  the  Maryland  cavalry,  which  had  not  yet 
reported  to  him  as  ordered.  We  were  marching 
through  the  mountains  in  the  enemy's  country,  far 
from  any  support,  without  any  cavalry  to  feel  the  way 
before  us.  I  had  a  lonely  ride  back,  also  through  a 
hostile  country,  and  did  not  find  Major  Harry  Gil- 
mor  till  after  I  had  reached  Hagerstown.  He  and  I 
then  rode  ahead,  the  cavalry  following  some  distance 
behind.  Gilmor  was  one  of  the  most  daring  arid  reck 
less  of  the  cavalry  leaders  in  the  army,  —  a  man  of 
great  stature,  powerful  build,  and  great  physical  endur 
ance.  His  "Four  Years  in  the  Saddle"  is  full  of  excit 
ing  and  daring  episodes,  illustrating  the  character  of 
the  man.  Stopping  at  a  farmhouse  for  refreshment 
for  man  and  beast,  Gilmor  entered  into  conversation 
with  the  farmer,  and  I  was  much  amused  to  hear  him 
tell  the  farmer  that  we  were  certain  of  success,  because 
our  army,  from  General  Lee  down,  was  wholly  com- 


164  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

posed  of  Christian  men  —  his  own  conversation  being 
punctuated  meanwhile  with  many  an  oath.  He 
explained  that  he  was  a  rare  exception.  Indeed,  he 
looked  more  like  one  of  Claverhouse's  dragoons  than  a 
leader  in  an  army  of  saints.  My  horse  and  I  had  cov 
ered  fifty  miles  before  night.  General  Steuart  was  an 
exacting  chief,  and  what  with  the  reveilles  before 
daylight,  the  forced  marches,  and  the  many  orders  to 
be  executed,  I  had  not  had  for  a  long  time  more  than 
three  or  four  hours  sleep  a  day.  I  find  a  note  in  my 
diary  in  this  campaign,  that  in  five  days  I  had  had  but 
twelve  hours  sleep  all  told. 

The  behavior  of  the  men  since  we  entered  Pennsyl 
vania  had  been  most  exemplary.  At  McConnells- 
burg  there  had  been  one  breach  of  General  Lee's  orders, 
but  that  was  the  solitary  exception.  I  find  this  note, 
' '  Our  division  has  not  burned  a  fence  rail  since  we  have 
been  in  Pennsylvania,"  and  also  this,  "The  people 
were  frightened  to  death,  and  only  asked  us  to  spare 
their  lives  and  not  burn  their  houses.  But  finding  us 
so  quiet  and  orderly,  they  became  calm  and  said  we 
treated  them  much  better  than  their  own  men." 

What  a  contrast  was  all  this  to  the  behavior  of  the 
Federal  armies  in  Virginia  and  throughout  the  South 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  war,  with  some 
honorable  exceptions.  In  their  very  first  march, 
from  Alexandria  to  Manassas,  the  Union  soldiers  pil 
laged  the  houses  of  the  people  and  committed  many 
depredations.  When,  after  that  battle,  we  passed 
through  Fairfax  Court  House,  the  people  had  much  to 
tell  of  what  they  had  suffered  during  the  forward  march 
of  McDowell's  army.  General  Sherman's  famous 
dictum  that  "War  is  hell"  is  undoubtedly  true  of 


MARCH  TO  GETTYSBURG  165 

war  as  conducted  by  him  in  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas, 
and  as  conducted  by  Sheridan  in  Virginia.  It  has  no 
application  to  war  as  conducted  by  General  Lee  in 
Pennsylvania  —  always  excepting  the  horrors  of  the 
battle  field.  When  General  Sheridan  visited  the  head 
quarters  of  the  Prussian  Army  before  Sedan,  he  told 
Bismarck  that  the  correct  principle  on  which  to  con 
duct  an  invasion  was  to  "leave  the  people  nothing  but 
eyes  to  weep  with."1  Those  words  well  embody  the 
ruthless  spirit  in  which  he  ravaged  the  valley  of  Virginia 
in  1864. 

From  McConnellsburg  we  marched  on  Friday,  June 
26th,  eastward  again,  passing  through  the  gap  to 
Loudonton  in  Franklin  County,  and  thence  through 
St.  Thomas  almost  to  Chambersburg  in  the  Cumberland 
Valley,  a  distance  of  over  twenty  miles.  Major  Gilmor 
captured  near  St.  Thomas  "sixty  head  of  cattle,  forty 
horses,  some  mules,  and  a  few  militia."  We  had  now 
marched  about  fifty  miles  in  Pennsylvania  and  had 
encountered  no  opposition  of  any  kind  till  the  appear 
ance  of  the  "few  militia"  now  mentioned.  Neverthe 
less,  we  had  marched  with  due  precaution,  a  squadron 
of  cavalry  in  front,  then  one  regiment  of  infantry, 
then  a  section  of  artillery,  then  the  rest  of  our  infantry, 
then  another  section  of  artillery,  then  ambulance  and 
wagon  trains,  and  lastly  a  rear  guard  of  cavalry. 
Saturday,  the  27th,  we  passed  through  Chambers- 
general  Sheridan  thus  expressed  himself :  "The  proper  strategy 
consists,  in  the  first  place,  in  inflicting  as  telling  blows  as  possible 
upon  the  enemy's  army,  and  then  in  causing  the  inhabitants  so  much 
suffering  that  they  must  long  for  peace,  and  force  their  government 
to  demand  it.  The  people  must  be  left  nothing  but  their  eyes  to 
weep  with  over  the  war."  Secret  pages  of  Bismarck's  history  by 
Moritz  Busch,  vol.  i.,  p.  128. 


166  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

burg  and  Green  Village  and  on  to  Shippensburg,  through 
which  we  pressed  to  Stoughstown,  seven  miles  farther, 
and  camped  at  Big  Spring  near  Springfield.  "At 
Springfield  I  bought  seven  copies  of  the  New  Testa 
ment"  for  distribution  among  the  men.  The  surprise 
of  the  storekeeper  when  an  officer  of  the  terrible  Rebel 
Army  desired  to  purchase  copies  of  the  New  Testa 
ment  may  be  imagined.  Perhaps  he  thought  if  the 
rebels  would  read  the  Good  Book,  they  might  repent 
of  their  wicked  Rebellion.  This  recalls  a  familiar  story 
of  General  Lee.  Some  time  after  the  war,  he  received 
a  letter  informing  him  that  the  writer  had  learned 
that  the  Arlington  family  Bible  was  in  the  possession 
of  a  lady  in  a  certain  Western  city  and  suggesting  that 
if  the  general  would  write  to  her  and  claim  it,  it  might 
be  restored  to  his  possession.  But  General  Lee  said 
in  reply  that  he  would  not  disturb  the  lady  on  the  sub 
ject,  adding,  with  that  quiet  humor  which  distinguished 
him,  that  if  she  would  read  the  Good  Book  and  reflect 
upon  its  precepts,  perhaps  she  would  restore  it  of  her 
own  accord. 

On  Sunday,  the  28th,  we  were  still  marching  north 
ward  toward  Harrisburg,  and  were  now  within  less  than 
a  day's  march  of  Carlisle.  My  notes  mention  that 
the  men  were  much  broken  down,  many  of  them  having 
marched  barefooted. 

The  object  of  this  expedition  of  ours  into  the  moun 
tains  west  of  the  Cumberland  Valley  was,  I  suppose, 
the  capture  of  cattle  for  the  supply  of  the  commissa 
riat.  If  I  recollect  aright,  it  had  not  been  very  success 
ful  in  this  respect,  though  the  sixty  head  were  a  welcome 
auxiliary  to  the  needs  of  the  army. 

But  now  evidently  we  were  marching  to  effect  a 


MARCH  TO  GETTYSBURG  167 

junction  with  the  other  divisions  of  our  corps.  Ewell 
had  been  instructed  by  Lee  to  move  towards  the  Sus- 
quehanna,  and  threaten  Harrisburg.  At  this  time 
part  of  his  corps  was  at  Carlisle,  about  eighteen  miles 
southwest  of  Harrisburg,  and  part,  under  Early,  was 
at  York,  about  twenty-five  miles  southeast  of  Harris 
burg,  and  within,  say,  eight  miles  of  the  Susquehanna. 
Ewell  had  sent  forward  his  engineer,  Captain  Rich 
ardson,  with  Jenkins'  Cavalry  to  reconnoitre  the  de 
fences  of  Harrisburg,  and  "was  starting  on  [Monday] 
the  29th  for  that  place,  when  ordered  by  the  general 
commanding  to  join  the  main  body  of  the  army  at 
Cashtown,  near  Gettysburg."  No  doubt,  therefore, 
our  brigade  was  pressing  on  to  join  General  Ewell 
in  front  of  Harrisburg,  but  on  that  same  day,  Monday 
the  29th,  at  nine  A.M.  we  received  orders  to  "  march 
back  toward  Chambersburg."  This  countermarch  was 
continued  that  day  and  Tuesday,  the  30th,  till  we 
reached  Green  Village,  when  we  moved,  head  of  column 
left,  and  marched  east  toward  Fayetteville.  Then 
Wednesday,  July  1st,  we  passed  through  Fayetteville 
and  through  the  gap  to  Cashtown.  "On  top  of  the 
mountain  we  heard  rapid  cannonading."  The  battle 
of  Gettysburg  —  so  big  with  fate  —  had  begun. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE    BATTLE    OF    GETTYSBURG!     OBSERVATIONS    AND 
PERSONAL    INCIDENTS 

T3EFORE  proceeding  to  record  my  personal  experi- 
*~*  ences  and  observations  on  this  eventful  field, 
I  shall  endeavor  to  explain,  as  best  I  can,  the  signifi 
cance  of  the  operations  of  the  Confederate  Army  up  to 
this  point,  and  the  plan  of  campaign  which  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  apparently  had  in  mind. 

Well,  it  is  clear  in  the  first  place  that  the  object  of 
General  Lee  in  the  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  was  to 
draw  the  Federal  armies  out  of  Virginia,  and  to  relieve 
that  State  of  the  war  at  least  for  a  brief  period.  This 
Pennsylvania  campaign,  although  offensive  in  form, 
was  defensive  in  purpose.  This  is  made  clear  by  Gen 
eral  Lee's  letter  of  June  8th  to  Mr.  Seddon,  Secretary 
of  War  at  Richmond,  and  his  letter  to  Mr.  Jefferson 
Davis  from  Williamsport  on  June  25th. 

Secondly,  when  entered  upon,  it  was  not  Lee's  inten 
tion  to  fight  an  offensive,  but  a  defensive  battle.  He 
says  in  his  Report  of  July  31st,  1863,  "It  had  not 
been  intended  to  fight  a  general  battle  at  such  a  dis 
tance  from  our  base,  unless  attacked  by  the  enemy." 

Thirdly,  up  to  the  night  of  June  28th,  at  which  time 
Lee  was  at  Chambersburg  with  the  corps  of  Longstreet 
and  Hill  close  at  hand,  it  was  Lee's  intention  to  continue 
the  advance  northward,  and  apparently  to  concentrate 

168 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG  169 

his  entire  army  at  Harrisburg.  This  is  affirmed  in 
both  his  Reports,  that  of  July  31st,  1863,  and  that  of 
January,  1864.  We  cannot  suppose  so  crucial  a  point 
would  have  been  twice  affirmed  by  the  commander-in- 
chief  if  it  had  not  been  true.  He  says  hi  the  former 
Report,  "  Preparations  were  now  made  to  advance 
upon  Harrisburg/'  In  the  latter,  "  Orders  were  there 
fore  issued  to  move  upon  Harrisburg."1 

Fourth,  that  plan  was  abandoned  for  a  reason  which 
is  thus  stated  in  Lee's  second  Report,  "The  advance 
against  Harrisburg  was  arrested  by  intelligence  received 
from  a  scout  on  the  night  of  the  28th  to  the  effect  that 
the  army  of  General  Hooker  had  crossed  the  Potomac 

1  Colonel  Mosby  says  in  his  book, "  Stuart's  Cavalry  in  the  Gettysburg 
Campaign  "  (p.  115),  "If  General  Lee  had  intended  to  take  his  army  to 
Harrisburg,  as  Marshall  says,  he  would  not  have  turned  to  the  east  at 
Chambersburg,  and  would  not  have  sent  Heth  on  to  Cashtown." 

To  prove  these  facts  he  quotes  Colonel  Fremantle,  the  English  visitor 
who  states  that  he  found  Generals  Lee  and  Longstreet  camped  on  the 
Gettysburg  road,  three  quarters  of  a  mile  east  of  Chambersburg  — 
this  on  June  27  or  28  —  and  he  also  quotes  Jacob  Hoke's  "Great  In 
vasion"  which  states  that  on  Friday,  26th,  Rodes  division  and  Johnson's 
also  moved  down  the  Harrisburg  road,  and  that  about  8  A.M.  Heth's 
division  of  Hill's  corps  entered  Chambersburg,  but  instead  of  following 
Johnson's  and  Rodes'  divisions,  turned  east  in  the  direction  of  Gettys 
burg  and  encamped  near  Fayetteville.  Hoke  concluded  from  this 
that  Baltimore  and  Washington  were  Lee's  destination  —  Now  do 
these  facts  certainly  prove  that  Lee  had  not  at  that  time  any  intention 
of  concentrating  his  army  at  Harrisburg?  I  do  not  think  so.  It  does 
not  seem  to  have  occurred  to  Colonel  Mosby  that  the  movements  which 
Mr.'  Hoke  witnessed  might  have  been  intended  to  produce  on  the  minds 
of  the  Federal  authorities  at  Washington  (to  whom  they  would  certainly 
be  reported)  the  same  impression  which  they  produced  on  the  mind 
of  Mr.  Hoke  —  in  other  words  to  deceive  the  enemy  as  to  his  real 


But  there  is  another  explanation.  General  Hill  in  his  Report  states 
that  he  was  ordered  to  move  through  York,  cross  the  Susquehanna, 
and  then  move  against  Harrisburg. 


170  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

and  was  approaching  the  South  Mountain.  In  the 
absence  of  the  cavalry  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain 
his  intentions;  but  to  deter  him  from  advancing  fur 
ther  west,  and  intercepting  our  communications  with 
Virginia,  it  was  determined  to  concentrate  the  army 
east  of  the  mountains." 

Fifth,  this  eastward  movement,  and  concentration 
east  of  the  South  Mountain,  does  not  explain  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg.  It  did  not  necessarily  result 
in  a  battle  at  that  place.  The  orders  given,  and  the 
reports  of  Ewell  and  Early,  make  it  plain  that  the 
purpose  of  the  Confederate  commander  was  to  con 
centrate  the  army  in  the  vicinity  of  Cashtown,  where 
it  would  have  held  a  very  strong  defensive  position  - 
impregnable  indeed  —  and  where  Lee  if  attacked  could 
have  fought  a  defensive  battle,  as  he  purposed  to  do. 

This,  then,  was  the  situation  when  the  sun  rose 
on  July  1st.  A.  P.  HilPs  corps  had  marched  from 
Chambersburg  east  to  Cashtown,  and  all  his  divisions 
except  Anderson's  were  already  east  of  the  mountains. 
Swell's  divisions  were  on  the  march  for  the  same  point; 
Edward  Johnson,  having  marched  southwest  from 
Carlisle  by  way  of  Shippensburg  and  Fayetteville, 
on  the  west  of  the  great  South  Mountain;  Rodes' 
division  having  marched  from  Carlisle  directly  south 
across  the  South  Mountain,  and  on  the  east  side  of 
the  same,  by  way  of  Heidlersburg  and  Middletown; 
and  Early's  division  southwest  from  York  by  way  of 
Hunterstown  and  Mummasberg.  Longstreet's  corps 
was  marching  from  Chambersburg  east  to  Cash- 
town. 

What  the  purpose  of  the  Confederate  commander- 
in-chief  was  in  this  concentration  at  Cashtown  can 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG  171 

perhaps  only  be  inferred.  Longstreet  had  advised 
Lee  to  concentrate  east  of  South  Mountain  and  "bear 
down  to  meet  the  enemy."  But  Lee  himself  had, 
before  leaving  Virginia,  expressed  his  determination 
not  to  fight  a  great  battle  unless  attacked.  Colonel 
Mosby's  ingenious  suggestion  has,  therefore,  much 
in  its  favor.  Arguing  from  the  fact  that  Lee  left  all 
the  gaps  south  of  Cash  town  open,  he  thinks  Lee  meant 
by  so  doing  to  entice  Hooker  to  cross  into  the  Cumber 
land  Valley,  "seize  Lee's  communications  and  strike 
him  in  his  rear."  "That  was  Lee's  own  favorite  ma 
noeuvre,  and  no  doubt  he  calculated  that  Hooker  would 
follow  his  example;  if  so,  he  would  flank  Hooker  and 
go  on  to  Washington."  Colonel  Mosby  adds  that 
Hooker  took  the  bait,  and  intended  to  do  what  Lee 
hoped  he  would  do,  but  Halleck  interposed  his  veto, 
and  Hooker  indignantly  asked  to  be  relieved.  On 
June  28th,  in  the  afternoon,  at  Frederick  city,  Hooker 
was  relieved  of  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac.  This  fact,  according  to  the  testimony  of  General 
Longstreet,  became  known  to  General  Lee  that  same 
night  before  midnight. 

Sixth.  The  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  precipitated 
by  the  advance  of  Lieutenant-General  Hill  the  early 
morning  of  July  1st.  Lee  had  certainly  given  his 
lieutenants  to  understand  that  he  did  not  wish  a 
general  engagement  brought  on.  Ewell  says  in  his 
Report  that  on  the  1st  of  July  he  was  moving  with 
Rodes'  division  towards  Cashtown,  and  had  ordered 
Early  to  follow,  but  before  he  reached  Middletown, 
which  is  about  nine  miles  east  of  Cashtown  and  nearly 
the  same  distance  north  of  Gettysburg,  he  "received 
notice  from  General  Hill  that  he  was  advancing  upon 


172  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Gettysburg,"  and  that  he  therefore  "  turned  the  head 
of  Rodes'  column  towards  that  place  by  the  Middle- 
town  road,  sending  word  to  Early  to  advance  directly 
on  the  Heidlersburg  road."  General  Ewell  also  says 
that  he  "  notified  the  general  commanding  of  his  move 
ments,  and  was  informed  by  him  that,  in  case  we  found 
the  enemy's  force  very  large,  he  did  not  want  a  gen 
eral  engagement  brought  on  until  the  rest  of  the  army 
came  up."  Now  as  General  Lee's  headquarters  that 
morning  were  at  Greenwood,  nine  miles  west  of  Cash- 
town,  it  must  have  taken  several  hours  for  Ewell  to 
send  him  this  message  and  receive  his  reply.  In  fact, 
before  General  Lee's  answer  arrived  Ewell  says  Hill 
was  heavily  engaged,  Carter's  artillery  of  his  own  corps 
was  in  action,  and  heavy  masses  of  the  enemy  were  mov 
ing  into  position  in  his  front.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  General  Lee  expected  a  battle  that  day.  In  fact, 
he  was  fifteen  miles  away  when  Hill  began  his  forward 
movement.  He  wrote  General  Imboden  from  Green 
wood,  July  1st,  7.30  A.M.  that  his  headquarters  for  the 
present  would  be  near  Cashtown,  —  eight  miles  west 
of  Gettysburg  —  this  while  Hill  and  Heth  were  already 
marching  into  battle  northwest  of  Gettysburg.  No 
one  claims,  I  believe,  that  the  commander-in-chief 
ordered  this  advance  of  Lieutenant-General  Hill.1 
So  that  we  appear  justified  in  the  conclusion  that 
General  Lee  was  dragged  into  this  great  battle  by  the 
unauthorized  action  of  one  of  his  lieutenants  in  ad 
vancing  without  orders  and  fighting  a  battle.  In  his 
report  General  Hill  says  he  advanced  for  the  purpose 

1  Gen.  E.  P.  Alexander  says,  "Hill's  movement  to  Gettysburg 
was  made  of  his  own  motion,  and  with  the  knowledge  that  he  would 
find  the  enemy's  cavalry  in  possession."  Memoirs,  p.  381. 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG  173 

of  making  a  reconnoissance  —  to  ascertain  if  the  enemy 
were  in  force  near  Gettysburg. 

There  were  nearly  50,000  men  engaged  in  the  battle 
that  day,  Rodes  and  Early  having  come  to  Hill's  assist 
ance  in  his  extremity.  They  turned  the  tide  in  favor 
of  the  Confederates,  who  till  their  arrival  had  had  the 
worst  of  it.  The  charge  of  Gordon's  Georgia  brigade 
of  Early's  division  at  three  P.M.  gave  the  coup  de  grace 
to  the  Federal  line.  It  has  been  thus  described : 

"Without  waiting  for  artillery  to  prepare  their  way,  or 
for  skirmishers  to  feel  for  the  enemy,  the  array  of  Georgian 
troops  descended  on  both  wings  of  the  llth  Corps,  and, 
with  the  precision  acquired  on  many  battle  fields,  swiftly 
and  silently  moved  forward  to  the  assault  without  firing 
a  shot.  The  sight  of  Jackson's  veterans  once  more  threaten 
ing  to  close  with  them  in  hand  to  hand  conflict  struck  a  chill 
to  the  hearts  of  men  they  had  so  recently  defeated,  and 
who  now  had  to  face  that  long  brown  line  hardly  distinguish 
able  from  the  corn  over  which  it  trampled,  save  for  the 
fringe  of  steel  glittering  above  it  in  the  July  sun,  and  for 
a  dozen  crimson  standards  which  flaunted  defiantly  the 
starry  cross  of  the  Confederacy.  Like  the  sickles  of  a  great 
line  of  reapers  the  sharp  bayonets  came  nearer  through  the 
ruddy  gold  of  the  ripening  wheat;  then  the  line  disappeared, 
only  to  emerge  a  minute  later  unbroken  and  unhesitating 
from  the  willows  which  lined  the  little  stream.  The  sight 
was  too  much  for  the  nerves  of  Barlow's  men.  Some  there 
were  who  gallantly  stood  to  be  bayoneted  when  their 
comrades  fled.  Barlow  himself  and  many  superior  officers 
fell  in  the  fire  which  preluded  the  Southern  charge,  but 
the  first  line  was  borne  back  half  a  mile  before  it  rallied 
on  its  reserves  at  the  Almshouse." — CAPT.  CECIL  BATTINE, 
"Crisis  of  the  Confederacy,"  pp.  196,  197. 

The  battle,  which  lasted  six  hours,  resulted  disas- 


174  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

trously  to  the  Federals.  General  Reynolds  was  killed, 
the  llth  Corps  was  almost  annihilated,  5,000  prisoners 
were  taken,  including  two  general  officers,  and  three 
pieces  of  artillery,  and  the  enemy  driven  two  miles 
into  and  beyond  Gettysburg. 

But  it  was  a  costly  victory,  for  it  compelled  Lee 
to  accept  the  alternative  of  retreating  or  fighting 
—fighting  on  a  field  where  the  Federal  Army  had  every 
advantage  of  position,  where  it  must  be  assailed  at 
great  disadvantage  to  the  assailants,  whether  on  the 
right  or  the  left  flank  or  in  the  centre.  Whoever  has 
visited  the  field  will  recognize  the  great  difficulty  of 
a  concerted  attack  by  the  forces  of  Lee,  and  also  that 
when  Meade  was  attacked  in  one  part  of  his  line,  he 
could  hurry  troops  easily  and  quickly  from  another 
part  to  its  succor,  because  his  line  was  like  a  horseshoe, 
or  rather  like  a  fish-hook. 

And  yet  General  Lee's  decision  to  attack  the  Fed 
eral  Army  the  next  day  was  justified  by  the  situation 
at  nightfall  of  July  1st.  The  enemy  to  the  number  of 
about  25,000  had  been  defeated  with  great  loss  and 
driven  from  the  field  in  disorder.  One  of  his  corps 
was  almost  annihilated.  The  finest  officer  in  the  Union 
army  had  been  killed.  Lee's  army  was  well  concen 
trated,  Longstreet's  corps  (the  last)  having  bivouacked 
within  four  miles  of  Gettysburg,  while  a  large  part 
of  the  Federal  Army  was  still  far  from  the  field.  And 
the  key  of  the  position,  Little  Round  Top,  was  within 
his  grasp,  —  if  he  might  count  on  his  orders  being 
obeyed.  General  Lee  could  not  foresee  that  the  first 
corps,  then  four  miles  from  the  field,  would  not  be 
launched  against  Little  Round  Top  till  four  P.M.  in 
stead  of  nine  A.M.  the  next  day. 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG  175 

But  to  proceed  with  my  observations.  I  have 
intimated  that  General  Stuart  was  not  the  only  one 
of  Lee's  lieutenants  who  failed  to  accomplish  what 
might  have  been  expected  of  him  in  the  Gettys 
burg  campaign.1  The  serious  error  of  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill 
has  already  been  referred  to.  That  was  followed  by 
the  grave  mistake  of  Lieutenant-General  Ewell  in  not 
pressing  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  and  seizing  Cemetery 
Hill.  General  Lee  did  not  arrive  in  sight  of  the  field 
until  2.30  P.M.,  and  could  not  therefore  grasp  the  situ 
ation  in  all  its  features,  but  he  promptly  sent  a  staff 
officer  to  General  Ewell,  saying  that  he  could  see  the 
enemy  in  retreat  over  the  hill  and  suggesting,  but  not 
commanding,  that  he  should  be  pursued  and  Cemetery 
Hill  seized.  General  Early,  General  Gordon,  and 
General  Trimble  were  all  urgent  with  General  Ewell 
to  advance.  Col.  E.  V.  White,  about  dark,  "saw  the 
enemy  leaving  Cemetery  Hill,"  and  reported  to  Gen 
eral  Ewell  what  he  had  seen.  No  advance  was  made, 
and  the  enemy  proceeded  leisurely,  during  the  night 
and  next  morning,  to  fortify  their  position  and  make  it 
impregnable.  Had  it  been  attacked  on  the  evening 
of  July  1st,  it  would  have  been  easily  taken,  as  we  now 
know,  and  the  great  battle  would  have  been  fought  on 
another  field,  or  else  would  have  terminated  disas 
trously  for  the  Federal  Army. 

The  next  failure  was  on  the  part  of  General  Long- 
street.  The  Confederate  commander,  upon  his  arrival 
on  the  field  after  the  battle  of  July  1st  was  over,  had 
immediately  seen  the  great  importance  of  Little  Round 
Top.  I  saw  him  sweep  the  horizon  with  his  glass,  and 
noted  that  he  scanned  that  elevation  with  great  atten- 

1  See  Appendix,  B. 


176  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

tion.  Accordingly  General  Longstreet  was  ordered  to 
move  the  next  morning  "as  early  as  practicable  with 
the  portion  of  his  command  that  was  up,  around  to  gain 
the  Emmitsburg  road  on  the  enemy's  left"  (Long- 
street's  statement).  This  order  he  took  the  responsi 
bility  of  disobeying  (by  his  own  confession),  preferring 
to  wait  till  the  last  of  his  brigades  was  up;  and  so  the 
movement  which  should  have  been  made  early  in  the 
day  (his  troops  bivouacked  within  four  miles  of 
the  battle  field  the  night  before)  did  not  take  place  till 
four  P.M.  Thus  the  golden  opportunity  was  lost  which 
would  have  given  Lee  the  key  of  the  battle  field.  Even 
then,  at  that  late  hour,  it  was  discovered  during  the 
attack  that  Little  Round  Top  was  unoccupied,  and 
Longstreet  was  asked  by  one  of  his  generals  for  per 
mission  to  make  a  flank  movement  and  seize  it,  - 
which  could  easily  have  been  done;  but  he  refused, 
saying  his  orders  were  to  attack  in  front. 

This  looks  like  a  sullen  refusal  of  a  great  opportu 
nity  by  one  whose  advice  the  evening  before  had  been 
dissented  from  by  the  commanding  general.  Major 
F.  G.  R.  Henderson,  the  distinguished  English  military 
critic,  comments  as  follows: 

"His  summary  message  to  the  divisional  commander 
to  carry  out  the  original  plan,  at  least,  lays  him  open  to  the 
suspicion  that  although  he  was  prepared  to  obey  orders, 
it  was  like  a  machine  and  not  like  an  intelligent  being." 

If  he  hesitated  to  act  on  his  own  initiative,  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  could  easily  have  been  consulted. 

By  this  fatal  and  inexcusable  delay  the  advantage 
of  superior  numbers  which  was  with  the  Confederates 
on  the  morning  of  the  2d  of  July  was  thrown  away. 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG  177 

Before  Longstreet  attacked,  the  advantage  of  numbers 
had  shifted  to  the  other  side  by  the  arrival  of  large 
bodies  of  Federal  troops. 

Had  this  been  seized  by  the  Confederates,  Meade 
could  not  have  held  his  position.  It  dominated  the 
whole  Federal  line.  But  there  was  great  and  unac 
countable  delay;  so  that  the  Federals  got  possession  of 
it,  arriving  about  twenty  minutes  before  the  column 
of  Longstreet.  It  would  appear  that  Hancock  marched 
twenty  miles  while  Longstreet  was  marching  six. 

Now  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  that  eminence  of 
Little  Round  Top  was  the  key  of  the  battle  field,  and 
Lee's  recognition  of  this,  with  the  knowledge  that  his 
troops  were  near  enough  to  seize  it,  completely  justi 
fies  his  decision  to  fight  on  that  field.  He  could  not 
anticipate  the  unnecessary  delay  in  the  execution  of 
his  order.  No  wonder  he  showed  impatience  the  next 
day  as  hour  after  hour  passed,  and  still  Longstreet's 
column  did  not  appear.  Colonel  Taylor  says  it  was 
the  only  occasion  during  the  war  when  he  ever  saw 
General  Lee  impatient. 

Captain  Battine,  the  English  military  critic,  in  dis 
cussing  the  question  whether  Lee  should  have  attacked 
the  Gettysburg  position,  says: 

"The  point  on  which  the  question  really  depended  was 
what  chance  the  Confederates  had  of  inflicting  a  decisive 
defeat,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  opportunity 
was  the  brightest  they  had  made  for  themselves  since  they 
let  McClellan  escape  from  the  banks  of  the  Chickahominy. 
One  third  of  the  Federal  Army  had  been  severely  defeated, 
the  remainder  were  concentrating  with  difficulty  by  forced 
marching;  a  prompt  deployment  of  all  his  available  forces 
would  have  placed  victory  within  Lee's  grasp.  The  reso- 


178  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

lution  to  attack  was  therefore  sound  and  wise, — the  failure 
lay  in  faults  of  execution  which  were  caused  to  some  extent 
at  any  rate  by  the  want  of  sympathetic  co-operation  of  the 
corps  commander."-  -"  Crisis  of  the  Confederacy,"  p.  207. 

Into  the  question  whether  the  charge  of  Pickett's 
division  on  the  third  day  ought  to  have  been  ordered 
-  whether  Lee  had  a  right  to  expect  that  it  would  suc 
ceed  —  I  do  not  propose  to  enter.  I  will  only  say,  he 
did  not  have  the  cordial  cooperation  of  his  second  in 
command,  and  the  charge  was  not  made,  and  was 
not  supported,  as  he  directed.  Major  Henderson, 
the  English  military  critic  and  author  of  the  "Life  of 
Stonewall  Jackson/'  has  left  a  valuable  discussion  of 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg  in  which  he  says  that  it  was 
the  purpose  of  General  Lee  that  the  charge  should 
have  been  made  by  30,000  men.  Instead,  15,000 
made  the  charge,  while  the  rest  of  the  army  looked 
idly  on! 

Thus  it  appears  that  in  this  great  crisis  of  the  war, 
the  Confederate  commander-in-chief  was  not  properly 
supported  by  his  subordinate  commanders.  All  three 
of  his  lieutenant-generals  failed  him  at  need,  as  well 
as  his  chief  of  cavalry.  Never  had  Lee  commanded 
so  fine  an  army  as  when  he  crossed  the  Potomac  to 
enter  upon  this  Pennsylvania  campaign.  It  was 
better  equipped  than  ever  before.  Its  discipline  was 
excellent,  its  morale  superb.  It  had  the  prestige  of 
victory.  It  was  full  of  confidence  and  enthusiasm. 
It  had  unbounded  trust  in  the  genius  of  its  com 
mander.  Never  was  it  so  confident  of  victory. 

That  victory  did  not  crown  its  efforts  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  due  to  the  failure  of  its  chief  or  to  any 
lack  of  heroic  courage  on  the  part  of  the  rank  and  file 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG 

of  the  army,  but  to  the  strange  and  unaccountab 
shortcomings  of  four  splendid  soldiers  upon  whom 
was  accustomed  to  rely  with  confidence,  and  who  had 
ever  been  loyal  to  him.  It  must  also  be  admitted 
that  Lee's  tactics  in  this  battle  were  not  at  all  up  to 
the  standard  of  his  strategy.  There  was  a  strange 
failure  to  coordinate  the  attacks  of  the  several  corps 
of  the  army.  Splendid  assaults  were  made  at  differ 
ent  points  of  the  line;  but  in  no  instance  were  these 
supported.  There  seemed  to  be  a  paralysis  of  the 
coordinating  faculty  all  along  the  line.  If  we  seek  the] 
ultimate  solution  of  the  mystery  of  this  failure  when* 
all  the  omens  pointed  to  success,  we  can  only  say,' 
"It  was  not  the  will  of  God.7'  Like  Hector  at  Troy,* 
Lee  was  fighting  against  the  supernal  powers.  And  yet' 
it  can  hardly  be  said  that  Gettysburg,  though  a  Con 
federate  failure,  was  a  Federal  victory.  It  was  rather 
a  drawn  battle.  The  first  day  was  marked  by  a  splen 
did  success  for  the  Confederates,  with  large  spoils  of 
war,  in  prisoners  (5,000)  and  in  artillery  (20  pieces). 
The  second  day  Sickles  was  almost  annihilated  by 
Longstreet.  The  third  day  Pickett's  magnificent  charge 
was  repulsed,  and  the  charge  of  Johnson's  division  on 
Gulp's  Hill  likewise. 

But  Lee  was  foiled,  not  beaten.  The  morale  of  his 
army  was  not  shaken.  He  offered  battle  on  Seminary 
Ridge  all  day  of  July  4th,  but  Meade  did  not  accept 
the  gage.  It  was  not  considered  by  him  or  his  corps 
commanders  prudent  to  do  so.  The  Federal  Army  was 
more  seriously  shaken  than  its  opponent.  Its  losses 
were  considerably  larger. 

When  Lee  decided  to  retire  into  Virginia,  after  Meade 
had  declined  his  offer  of  battle  on  July  4th,  his  retreat 


180  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

was  so  deliberate  that  in  twenty-four  hours  he  only 
marched  seven  or  eight  miles. 
Here  is  the  record  in  my  diary: 

"On  Saturday  night  (July  4)  we  left  camp  at  Gettysburg, 
marching  very  slowly  in  consequence  of  the  length  of  the 
ordnance  and  artillery  train,  and  the  ruggedness  and 
mountainous  nature  of  the  road.  The  enemy  pursued  us 
with  great  caution,  not  daring  to  attack.  By  Sunday 
night  we  had  made  about  seven  or  eight  miles.  Monday 
we  marched  as  far  as  Waynesboro  just  beyond  the  moun 
tain." 

Then  on  Tuesday  we  continued  our  march  and  made 
eight  miles,  going  into  camp  on  the  Leitersburg  road, 
three  miles  east  of  Hagerstown.  Wednesday  we  were 
still  in  camp  at  the  same  place.  Thursday  we  t  i  lay  in 
camp."  Friday  we  moved  camp  to  a  point  three  miles 
beyond  Hagerstown.  The  Federal  cavalry  was  twice 
defeated  in  attacks  on  his  trains,  once  July  6th,  at 
Williamsport,  by  Imboden,  and  again  at  Hagerstown, 
July  7th,  by  General  Stuart. 

Near  Hagerstown  Lee  again  offered  battle  on  July 
llth,  a  week  after  the  conflict  ended  at  Gettysburg, 
-  his  only  defences  being  the  light  breastworks  thrown 
up  by  the  men  with  their  bayonets.  Sunday,  the  12th, 
his  army  was  still  in  line  awaiting  attack,  but  no  attack 
was  made.  Meade  had  called  a  council  of  war  to 
consider  whether  he  should  attack  or  no.  Mr.  Lin 
coln  was  telegraphing  him  that  he  had  only  to  close 
his  hand  and  crush  Lee;  but  Meade's  generals  coun 
selled  him  against  it  —  they  realized  that  if  he  did, 
he  would  find  he  was  closing  it  on  a  hornet's  nest. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  army  of 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG  181 

Lee  was  at  all  shaken  or  demoralized  by  the  battle. 
It  was  on  the  contrary  as  full  of  fight  as  ever  —  as 
ready  to  obey  the  commands  of  its  idolized  chief. 
Very  few  brigades  had  had  so  hard  fighting  or  suffered 
such  heavy  losses  as  that  of  Gen.  Geo.  H.  Steuart  (the 
third  brigade  of  Johnson's  division),  but  our  men  were 
eager  for  the  Federals  to  attack  us  at  Hagerstown, 
and  confident  we  could  repulse  them. 

This  spirit  and  this  confidence  is  reflected  in  my 
diary  and  in  my  correspondence.  In  a  letter  to  my 
mother  I  wrote: 

HAGERSTOWN,  July  7,  1863. 

"The  army  is  in  fine  spirits  and  confident  of  success  when 
they  again  meet  the  enemy.  This  you  may  rely  upon  and 
so  you  may  comfort  yourselves  with  it.  A  military  blunder 
was  committed,  but  the  men  never  fought  better." 

Again  I  wrote: 

MARTINSBURG,  July  15,  1863. 

"Let  me  tell  you  not  to  believe  the  stories  in  the  Northern 
papers  about  the  rout  and  demoralization  of  our  army. 
We  remained  in  Maryland  ten  days  after  the  battle,  and 
yet  our  enemy  dared  not  attack  us,  though  we  lay  in  line 
of  battle  three  days  within  half  a  mile  of  him.  Our  loss 
was  not  as  heavy  as  theirs  according  to  their  own  account, 
either  in  killed  or  prisoners.  The  men  are  in  good  discipline 
and  spirits,  and  ready  to  teach  our  foes  a  lesson  when  they 
meet  them  again." 

In  the  same  letter  I  said: 

"My  heart  bleeds  when  I  think  of  the  bitter  disappoint 
ment  you  have  all  experienced  in  the  retreat  of  our  army  from 
Maryland.  To  us  who  have  thought  the  hopes,  for  two 
long  years  deferred,  were  about  to  be  realized,  and  have 


182  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

suddenly  been  so  grievously  disappointed  —  to  us  it  is  a 
heavy  blow,  and  our  hearts  are  bowed  with  the  greatness  of 
our  grief  —  but  to  you,  brave,  noble  women  of  Maryland, 
it  must  be  far  more  bitter  and  more  crushing.  Our  deepest 
sympathies  go  out  to  you,  but  still  we  say,  Hope  on!  Do  not 
despair!" 

And  in  my  diary: 

"Saturday,  July  11.  This  morning  formed  in  line  of 
battle,  left  resting  a  mile  or  two  from  Hagerstown.  .  .  .  The 
Potomac  is  still  unfordable,  but  if  the  enemy  only  will 
attack  us,  we  don't  want  to  cross  the  river.1  May  the  Lord 
be  on  our  side  and  show  Himself  our  Helper  and  our  Defense. 
Our  trust  is  in  his  right  hand,  and  in  His  holy  arm.  Our 
own  strength  will  not  save  us.  ...  I  went  into  the  last 
battle  feeling  that  victory  must  be  ours  —  that  such  an  army 
could  not  be  foiled,  and  that  God  would  certainly  declare 
Himself  on  our  side.  Now  I  feel  that  unless  He  sees  fit  to 
bless  our  arms,  our  valor  will  not  avail." 

When  General  Lee  did  cross  the  Potomac  (the  night 
of  July  13th),  the  passage  was  effected  successfully, 
without  the  loss  of  a  single  piece  of  artillery  —  and 
scarcely  a  wagon.  That  was  a  trying  march  for  Lee's 
army  from  Gettysburg  to  Hagerstown. 

"During  the  whole  march  it  rained  hard,  and  the  men 
had  not  one  day's  rations  in  the  three.  Consequently 
depredations  were  committed  [such  as  pig  sticking,  chicken 
taking,  etc.]  Fence  rails  were  burned  for  the  first  time  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  by  permission.  I  have  seldom  suffered 
as  much  on  any  march.  Want  of  food  and  sleep,  and  the 

1  The  following  entry  the  Thursday  previous  shows  we  were  not  at 
all  nervous  about  the  proximity  of  the  enemy.  "Dr.  Johnson,  Johnnie 
Boyle,  and  I  went  out  to  see  Mr.  Berry  and  took  dinner.  Returning, 
supped  with  Mr.  Rogan.  Made  sick  by  the  good  things."  Next  day, 
"Rode  in  the  ambulance  for  the  first  time  since  I've  been  a  soldier." 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG  183 

tediousness  of  movement,  together  with  the  inclemency  of 
the  weather  and  the  roughness  of  the  roads." 

Reverting  to  the  story  of  the  battle,  there  are  one 
or  two  things  I  wish  to  mention  of  a  personal  nature. 
As  we  were  on  the  march  to  the  field,  on  July  1st,  the 
distant  booming  of  the  cannon  in  our  ears,  one  of  the 
privates  of  Murray's  company  came  up  to  me,  during 
a  brief  halt  by  the  roadside,  and  said  he  wanted  to 
speak  to  me.  It  was  James  Iglehart,  of  Annapolis. 
We  stepped  aside,  and  I  said,  "What  is  it,  Iglehart?" 
He  answered,  "  Lieutenant,  I  want  to  ask  your  par 
don."  "My  pardon!"  said  I.  "Why,  what  on  earth 
do  you  mean?"  "Fve  done  you  an  injustice,"  he  said, 
"and  before  we  go  into  this  battle,  I  want  to  tell  you 
so,  and  have  your  forgiveness."  I  told  him  I  could 
not  imagine  what  he  meant,  and  he  then  said  that  he 
had  thought  from  my  bearing  toward  him  that  I  was 
"proud  and  stuck  up,"  because  I  was  an  officer  and  he 
only  a  private  in  the  ranks,  but  now  he  saw  that  he  was 
entirely  mistaken  and  he  wanted  to  wipe  out  the  un 
spoken  injustice  he  had  done  me.  The  next  time  I  heard 
his  voice  was  in  that  last  terrible  charge  on  Gulp's  Hill, 
when  our  column  had  been  dashed  back  like  a  wave 
breaking  in  spray  against  a  rock.  "McKim,"  he  cried, 
"McKim,  for  God's  sake,  help  me!"  I  turned  and  saw 
him  prostrate  on  the  ground,  shot  through  both  thighs. 
I  went  back  a  few  yards,  and  putting  my  arm  round 
him,  dragged  him  to  the  shelter  of  a  great  rock  and  laid 
him  down  to  die.  There  are  two  things  that  rise  in 
my  thought  when  I  think  of  this  incident.  One  is 
that  if  he  hadn't  come  to  me  two  days  before  and  re 
lieved  his  mind  as  he  did,  the  gallant  fellow  would 
not  have  asked  my  help.  And  the  other  is  that  the 


184  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

men  in  blue  in  that  breastwork  must  have  been  touched 
with  pity  when  they  saw  me  trying  to  help  poor  Igle- 
hart.  It  took  some  minutes  to  go  back  and  get  him 
behind  that  rock,  and  they  could  have  shot  us  both 
down  with  perfect  ease  if  they  had  chosen  to  do  it. 

In  my  Narrative  I  have  referred  to  that  tremen 
dous  artillery  duel  which  shook  the  earth  for  two  hours 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  of  the  battle.  I 
now  set  down  the  fact  that  I  held  my  watch  in  my  hand 
and  counted  the  number  of  discharges  in  one  minute: 
it  was  one  hundred  and  eighty.  "It  was  a  beautiful 
sight,  but  an  awful  one."  I  think  it  was  before  this 
that  I  went,  first  to  the  Tenth  Virginia,  and  then  to  the 
Second  Maryland  Regiment,  and  conducted  religious 
services.  There  was  a  peculiar  solemnity  in  thus  appeal 
ing  to  the  Almighty  for  His  protection  on  the  battle 
field  itself,  just  before  rushing  forward  to  assault  the 
lines  of  the  enemy.  The  men  were  lying  on  their  arms, 
momentarily  expecting  to  be  ordered  to  the  charge, 
and  they  seemed  thankful  for  the  opportunity  of  join 
ing  in  divine  worship.  It  was  for  many  a  poor  fellow 
his  last  service  on  earth. 

In  talking  with  survivors  of  this  great  battle,  I  have 
sometimes  remarked  that  I  thought  I  had  performed 
an  exploit  at  Gettysburg  that  none  of  them  could 
match.  "What  is  that?"  "Why,"  said  I,  "I  went 
sound  asleep  in  the  very  midst  of  the  heaviest  firing, 
lying  in  the  Federal  breastworks!"  And  I  did,  in  very 
deed  and  truth.  I  had  taken  three  men,  at  the  crisis 
of  the  conflict,  when  word  had  come  to  General  Steuart 
that  our  ammunition  was  almost  exhausted,  and  had 
gone  on  foot  to  the  ammunition  wagons  about  a  mile 
distant  and  brought  three  boxes  of  ammunition  in 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG  185 

blankets  swung  to  rails  through  the  burning  sun  up 
Gulp's  Hill  to  our  men.  When  I  at  length  dropped  my 
precious  burden  in  the  breastworks,  I  fell  over  utterly 
exhausted  with  the  exertion,  and  with  the  loss  of  sleep 
for  six  days  before  the  battle,  and  fell  asleep.  Such 
exhaustion  completely  banishes  the  sense  of  danger; 
and  the  bursting  shell  and  whistling  bullets  made  no 
impression  on  me  whatever  in  those  moments  of  utter 
collapse.  Whether  I  slept  two  minutes,  or  five,  I  do 
not  know,  but  I  was  rudely  awakened  by  a  piece  of 
shell  striking  me  painfully  on  the  back,  but  its  force 
was  spent  —  it  did  me  no  real  hurt. 

This  reminds  me  that  on  one  of  the  recent  occasions 
when  the  graves  of  the  Confederate  dead  in  Arlington 
were  being  decorated  with  flowers,  a  gentleman  came 
up  to  me  and  said,  "Dr.  McKim,  I  am  very  glad  to 
see  you  again.  It  is  more  than  forty  years  since  we 
met,  and  we  were  not  acquaintances  then;  but  I  can 
never  forget  the  face  of  the  man  who  brought  us  that 
ammunition  in  the  Federal  breastworks  on  Gulp's  Hill. 
I  claim  the  privilege  of  introducing  myself  to  you." 

Very  few  men  in  that  battle  in  our  brigade  but  were 
touched  by  shot  or  shell,  even  if  they  escaped  being 
wounded.  I  myself  was  touched  four  times  without 
being  hurt.  A  ball  grazed  my  shoulder  as  I  was  bring 
ing  the  ammunition  up  Gulp's  Hill.  Another  went 
through  my  haversack  and  ripped  the  back  off  a  New 
Testament  I  had  in  my  pocket.  Then  the  piece  of 
shell  rebounded  from  a  tree  and  struck  me  in  the  back 
as  I  have  mentioned.  But  the  most  remarkable  escape 
I  had  was  from  a  ball  which  struck  me  on  the  wrist 
as  I  was  forming  the  line  for  the  last  charge  on  Gulp's 
Hill.  The  pain  was  sharp  for  a  moment  and  my  arm 


186  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

was  thrown  out  violently  by  the  blow,  but  no  bone  was 
broken,  and  not  a  drop  of  blood  drawn  —  only  a  large 
lump  over  the  wrist-bone,  red  and  angry  looking. 
"Your  arm  is  broken,  is  it  not,  Lieutenant?"  said 
Colonel  Warren  of  the  Tenth  Virginia.  "I  don't  know 
yet,"  said  I,  as  I  drew  off  my  gauntlet;  while  inwardly 
I  said,  "I  hope  it  is.  I'd  be  glad  to  compromise  with 
the  loss  of  an  arm  to  get  out  of  this  hopeless  charge." 
But  I  had  no  excuse  for  not  going  forward.  The  ball 
had  struck  a  brass  button  on  my  gauntlet  and  had 
glanced  aside;  and  the  reason  I  wore  gauntlets  with 
brass  buttons  was  that  I  had  exchanged  mine,  which 
had  none,  for  those  of  my  cousin,  Major  W.  Duncan 
McKim,  who  preferred  mine  to  his! 

I  would  like  here  to  pay  a  tribute  to  the  splendid 
fortitude  of  the  Third  Brigade,  and  especially  of  the 
Second  Maryland  Regiment,  on  Gulp's  Hill  on  July  3d. 
And  I  refer  not  so  much  to  that  last  magnificent  charge, 
in  which  that  regiment  was  conspicuous  above  others, 
but  to  the  steadiness  with  which  the  brigade  obeyed 
the  order  to  evacuate  the  intrenchments  and  retire  to 
the  foot  of  the  hill.  As  I  have  said  elsewhere,  "To 
rush  forward  in  the  fire  and  fury  of  battle  does  not 
test  a  soldier's  mettle  as  it  does  to  retreat,  under 
such  circumstances,  in  good  order.  And  I  point  to 
that  column,  after  that  night  and  day  of  battle,  after 
their  terrible  losses,  after  that  fatal  repulse  in  the  bay 
onet  charge,  their  nerves  shaken  by  all  that  they  had 
endured,  —  I  point  to  it  marching  steadily  down  that 
hill  of  death,  while  the  heroic  Capt.  Geo.  Williamson 
and  another  staff  officer,  with  drawn  swords,  walked 
backward  (face  to  the  enemy)  to  steady  them  —  never 
breaking  into  a  run,  never  losing  their  order,  --  and 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG  187 

I  say,  'Then  and  there  was  the  supreme  exhibition  of 
their  soldierly  qualities!' ' 

I  extract  from  my  diary  the  following  passage. 
Referring  to  the  night  of  the  2d3  I  wrote: 

"  General  Steuart  ordered  me  again  to  the  hospital  to  bring 
up  the  ambulances.  I  did  not  return  till  half  past  three  in  the 
morning  and  so  got  no  sleep.  [I  remember  that  I  had  just 
lain  down  with  my  bridle  over  my  arm  when  the  first  shell 
of  the  Federal  artillery  came  crashing  over  our  heads.]  At 
four  this  morning  the  enemy  opened  fire,  contrary  to  our 
expectations.  We  had  heard  the  rumbling  of  wagons  and 
artillery  all  night  and  supposed  they  were  leaving."  [In 
stead  they  were  massing  their  artillery  to  drive  us  out.] 

Swinton  says,  "  During  the  night  a  powerful  artil 
lery  was  accumulated  against  the  point  entered  by  the 
enemy."  He  further  says,  "The  troops  of  the  12th 
Corps  had  returned  from  the  left,  and  the  divisions 
of  Williams  and  Gray,  aided  by  Shaler's  brigade,  of 
the  Sixth  Corps,  entered  upon  the  severe  struggle  to 
regain  the  lost  position  of  the  line."  Thus  not  less 
than  seven  brigades  were  launched  against  that  one 
small  brigade  of  Steuart.  Had  Longstreet  attacked 
on  the  right  at  daybreak  as  ordered,  this  could  not  have 
been  done.  Was  there  any  heroism  displayed  in  that 
tremendous  battle  greater  than  that  exhibited  by  those 
2,200  men  of  the  Third  Brigade?1 

Let  it  be  remembered,  too,  that  while  we  were 
pounded  for  hours  by  that  powerful  artillery,  we  had 
not  a  single  piece  on  that  hill  to  make  reply.  They 
marvelled  that  we  did  not  return  their  artillery  fire. 
Resuming  the  extract  from  my  diary: 

1  By  that  time  their  number  was  less  than  2,000. 


188  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

"This  hill  [on  our  right]  commanded  the  breastworks 
which  we  held,  and  we  were  exposed  to  an  enfilading  fire 
of  musketry  and  artillery  from  four  A.M.  till  eleven  A.M." 

Referring  to  the  charge  ordered  by  Major-General 
Johnson,  and  disapproved  by  Steuart  and  Daniels: 

"The  men  were  mowed  down  with  fearful  rapidity,  by 
two  lines  in  front  and  a  force  on  the  left  flank,  besides  an 
artillery  fire  from  the  left  rear.  It  was  the  most  fearful 
fire  I  ever  encountered,  and  my  heart  was  sickened  with 
the  sight  of  so  many  gallant  men  sacrificed.  The  greatest 
confusion  ensued,  —  regiments  were  reduced  to  companies 
and  everything  mixed  up.  It  came  very  near  being  a  rout." 

Again : 

"We  were  next  formed  on  the  breastwork  [of  the  enemy] 
and  exposed  to  a  terrific  fire  exceeding,  by  the  testimony  of 
all,  any  engagement  the  army  has  been  in.  I  never  felt 
so  miserable  in  my  life  —  the  possibility  of  defeat,  the 
slaughter  of  the  men,  the  retreat  from  the  breastworks, 
and  the  consequent  confusion,  and  the  almost  certain  expec 
tation  of  being  killed  or  wounded,  and  the  vivid  fore 
sight  of  the  grief  of  my  poor  wife  —  all  made  me  feel 
more  miserable  than  I  have  ever  been  before.  But  I 
strengthened  my  heart  by  prayer  and  was  enabled  to  be 
perfectly  calm.  The  storm  of  shot  and  shell  was  terrible, 
yet  I  went  to  sleep  in  the  midst  of  it  several  times,  so  weary 
was  I.  We  formed  again  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  and  remained 
till  evening,  when  new  troops  were  brought  on  and  fighting 
continued  till  now  (five  P.M.)." 

This  shows  that  my  notes  were  made  on  the  battle 
field.  The  fighting  after  that  hour  was  only  sharp- 
shooting  —  no  volley  firing  —  no  charges  or  counter 
charging.  It  is  amazing  that  the  Federals  made  no 
attempt  to  drive  us  across  the  creek.  It  shows  how 


BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG  189 

badly  they  were  punished  and  how  seriously  their 
morale  was  shaken. 

"  At  1.30  A.M.  [July  4]  the  order  was  given  to  retire,  and  it 
was  executed  so  quietly  that  though  the  enemy's  pickets  were 
only  fifty  yards  from  ours  they  did  not  discover  it  till  day 
broke  and  we  had  formed  in  line  of  battle  along  a  ridge 
beyond  the  town.  [Seminary  Ridge.]  Here  we  threw  up 
a  hasty  breastwork  and  awaited  the  attack  of  the  enemy 
all  day,  but  night  came  without  developing  any  such  inten 
tion.  During  the  morning  the  baggage  trains  were  sent  off 
toward  Williamsport,  and  we  followed  very  slowly  late  in 
the  night  [eleven  P.M.]." 

One  of  the  officers  killed  on  Gulp's  Hill  was  Major 
Benjamin  Watkins  Leigh,  of  the  staff  of  Major-Gen. 
Edward  Johnson.  Nothing  was  known  at  the  time 
of  the  manner  or  place  of  his  death;  but  many  years 
afterward  I  had  a  letter  from  a  Federal  officer  in 
Massachusetts  telling  how  it  occurred.  It  seems  that 
Major  Leigh,  seeing  a  group  of  Confederates  in  a  very 
exposed  position  raise  a  white  flag  in  order  to  sur 
render  to  the  enemy,  gallantly  rode  into  their  midst 
to  prevent  the  execution  of  their  purpose.  While  so 
engaged  he  met  his  death,  and  my  correspondent  said 
that  the  day  after  the  battle  he  was  found  lying  on 
the  field  still  in  the  saddle,  his  horse  dead  with  him 
as  if  a  part  of  him  —  horse  and  rider  having  been 
killed  at  the  same  moment.  It  was,  my  correspond 
ent  said,  a  strange  spectacle.  Stranger  perhaps  it 
was  that  I  should  receive  the  story  of  his  death  a 
quarter  of  a  century  after  it  occurred,  from  one  whom 
I  did  not  know,  and  of  whom  I  had  never  heard. 

At  Williamsport  the  following  amusing  incident 
occurred.  While  the  wagon-trains  were  massed  there 


190  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

waiting  for  the  river  to  fall,  the  enemy's  cavalry  ap 
proached  and  shelled  the  banks  of  the  river.  There 
is  a  deep  hollow  or  depression  there  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Potomac,  and  here  the  wagons  were  parked. 
A  Confederate  quartermaster  officer  approached  the 
spot  during  the  artillery  fire  and  was  amazed  to  observe 
that  not  a  single  teamster  was  to  be  seen.  He  could 
not  account  for  it,  until  he  happened  to  look  toward 
the  river,  and  there  saw  hundreds  of  black  heads  just 
showing  above  the  water.  The  negro  teamsters  with 
one  accord  had  plunged  into  the  river  to  escape  the 
shells,  and  were  submerged  to  the  neck! 

During  an  artillery  duel  at  or  near  Williamsport 
the  negro  servant  of  one  of  our  officers  appeared  on 
the  scene,  close  to  the  artillery  while  it  was  in  action. 
" Caesar,"  said  the  officer,  "what  are  you  doing  here? 
Have  I  not  ordered  you  always  to  keep  in  the  rear 
when  fighting  is  going  on?"  "Yes,  Marster,"  said 
the  negro,  "I  know  you  is  told  me  dat.  But  I  declar' 
fo'  God,  I'se  look  ebery  whar  on  dis  here  battle  field 
dis  day,  and  I  cyarnt  find  no  rear."  The  river  was  the 
rear  of  the  Confederate  line,  and  the  Federals  were 
shelling  it  vigorously  to  prevent  a  crossing. 

I  have  mentioned  on  a  previous  page  the  chaplain  of 
the  Third  North  Carolina  Regiment,  Rev.  Geo.  Patter 
son.  The  following  incident  well  illustrates  the  char 
acter  of  the  man.  One  of  the  officers  of  the  brigade 
was  desperately  wounded  in  the  battle  of  the  third 
day,  and  Mr.  Patterson  was  promptly  by  his  side  to 
minister  to  him.  He  took  a  lantern  and  went  out  alone 
on  the  battle  field  and  found  him.  It  had  become  known 
that  we  had  orders  to  withdraw,  and  the  good  chap 
lain  told  the  wounded  young  man  that  he  would  be 


BATTLE    OF    GETTYSBURG  191 

obliged  to  leave  him  and  march  with  his  regiment, 
whereupon  the  officer  asked  him  to  read  the  burial 
service  over  him  before  he  left,  "for,"  said  he,  "I 
know  I'm  as  good  as  dead."  To  this  request  Mr. 
Patterson  gave  a  cheerful  assent,  and  there  on  the 
battle  field,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  by  the  light 
of  a  lantern,  the  solemn  service  was  read,  and  Mr. 
Patterson  bade  the  dying  officer  farewell. 

But  the  colonel  did  not  die,  but  recovered  his 
health,  and  many  years  afterwards,  in  the  year  1886, 
in  a  Western  town,  he  met  Rev.  Mr.  Patterson  and 
cordially  greeted  him.  That  gentleman,  however,  did 
not  recognize  him,  and  shading  his  eyes  with  his  hand, 
looked  at  him  intently  a  moment  and  then  shook  his 
head,  saying,  "I  don't  know  you.  Who  are  you?" 
The  officer  replied,  "I  am  Colonel  B.,  of  —  North 
Carolina  Regiment."  To  which  Patterson  promptly 
replied,  "Now  I  know  you  are  lying,  for  I  buried 
him  at  Gettysburg!" 


CHAPTER  XVI 
STEUART'S  BRIGADE  AT  GETTYSBURG  —  A  NARRATIVE1 

INTRODUCTORY   NOTE 

NEW  YORK,  March  4,  1878. 
REV.  J.  WM.  JONES,  D.D., 

Secretary  Southern  Historical  Society. 

DEAR  SIR:  The  sketch  which  I  send  herewith  has  been 
prepared  at  the  urgent  request  of  several  of  the  survivors  of 
the  Third  Brigade  (Second  Corps,  A.  N.  V.),  who  think  that 
justice  to  the  memory  of  the  heroic  men  of  that  command 
who  gave  up  their  lives  at  Gettysburg  demands  a  more 
extended  notice  than  has  yet  appeared  of  the  part  borne 
by  them  on  that  bloody  field.  (Owing  to  the  fact  that  on 
the  3d  of  July  I  was  occupied  chiefly  on  the  right  of  the 
line,  my  narrative  relates  principally  to  the  deeds  of  the 
regiments  on  the  right.)  In  preparing  the  narrative  my 
memory  has  been  assisted  by  pocket  memoranda,  made  on 
the  field,  and  by  letters  written  immediately  after  the  events 
related.  This  enables  me  to  hope  that  in  all  substantial 
points  this  account  may  be  relied  on  as  accurate. 

It  is  proper  to  add  that  I  was  attached  as  aide-de-camp 
to  the  staff  of  the  brigadier-general  commanding  the  brigade, 
so  that  I  had  excellent  opportunities  of  informing  myself 
of  its  condition  and  its  deeds. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

RANDOLPH  H.  McKiM. 


third  brigade  of  Johnson's  division  entered  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg  very  much  jaded  by  the  hard 
marching  which  fell  to  its  lot  the  week  previous.     It 

1  Reprinted  from  "Southern  Historical  Society  Papers,"  June,  1878. 

192 


STEUART'S  BRIGADE  AT  GETTYSBURG  193 

formed  part  of  an  expeditionary  force  of  infantry, 
cavalry,  and  artillery  which  was  detached  from  the 
Second  Corps  on  the  24th  of  June,  under  the  command 
of  Brig.-Gen.  George  H.  Steuart,  and  ordered  to  Mer- 
cersburg  and  McConnellsburg.  In  the  execution  of  the 
duty  assigned  it  was  required  to  perform  some  heavy 
marching,  as  the  following  itinerary  record  will  show: 

Tuesday,  June  23,  1863.  —  Broke  camp  near  Sharpsburg, 
and,  passing  through  Hagerstown,  halted  five  miles  beyond 
at  three  o'clock.  Distance,  seventeen  miles. 

Wednesday,  June  24.  —  Moved  at  4.30  A.M.  At  Green- 
castle  filed  to  the  left  on  the  road  to  Mercersburg.  Entered 
McConnellsburg  about  nine  P.M.  after  a  march  of  twenty- 
four  miles. 

Friday,  June  26.  —  Marched  from  McConnellsburg  to 
Chambersburg,  twenty  miles,  through  a  steady  rain.  The 
cavalry  under  Major  Gilmor  captured  sixty  head  of  cattle, 
forty  horses,  a  few  mules,  and  some  militia. 

Saturday,  June  27.  — Column  moved  at  7.30  A.M.,  through 
Shippensburg,  to  Springfield.  Men  much  broken  down, 
having  marched  nineteen  miles,  many  of  them  barefooted. 

Sunday,  June  28.  —  After  a  short  march  of  six  or  seven 
miles  made  camp  at  two  P.M.,  about  five  miles  south  of  Car 
lisle.  Rejoined  our  division  to-day. 

Monday,  June  29.  —  About  nine  A.M.  received  orders 
to  march  back  to  Chambersburg.  Great  surprise  ex 
pressed.  Marched  eleven  miles  and  camped  one  mile 
south  of  Stoughstown. 

Tuesday,  June  30.  —  Column  moved  at  five  A.M.  Passed 
through  Shippensburg,  to  Green  Village,  where  we  took  left 
road  to  Fayetteville. 

Wednesday,  July  1. —  Column  moved  at  seven  A.M. 
Passed  through  Fayetteville.  On  top  of  mountain  heard 
rapid  cannonading.  Soon  saw  the  smoke  of  the  battle,  and 
then  of  burning  houses.  Hurried  to  the  front,  but  the  battle 


194  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

was  over.  Distance  from  our  camp  on  Monday  to  Gettys 
burg,  thirty-five  miles.  This  was  marched  by  the  brigade 
on  Tuesday  and  Wednesday.  It  may  have  been  a  greater 
distance;  it  was  not  less.  Our  camp  on  the  night  of  the  30th 
must  have  been  not  far  east  or  west  of  Greenwood. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  men  of  the  Third  Brigade 
had  marched,  within  the  nine  days  preceding  the 
battle,  at  least  133,  perhaps  as  many  as  138  miles. 
But,  though  weary  and  footsore,  they  moved  forward 
with  alacrity  to  take  part  in  the  great  conflict  which 
had  already  begun.  In  the  first  day's  action  they  were 
not  engaged,  the  enemy  having  been  driven  from  the 
field  by  A.  P.  Hill,  Rodes,  and  Early  before  their  arrival. 
The  time  of  their  arrival  may  be  fixed  by  the  circum 
stance  which  I  distinctly  remember,  viz.,  the  arrival 
of  General  Lee  upon  the  field,  his  survey  of  the  enemy's 
position  on  Cemetery  Hill  with  his  glass,  and  the  des 
patch  of  one  of  his  staff  immediately  in  the  direction 
of  the  town. 

Passing  over  the  scene  of  conflict,  where  the  line  of 
battle  could  be  in  some  places  distinctly  traced  by  the 
ranks  of  dead  Federal  soldiers,  they  entered  the  town 
of  Gettysburg  a  little  before  dusk.  (The  time  of  our 
entering  the  town  I  fix  by  the  fact  that  I  easily  read 
a  letter  handed  me  by  Major  Douglass.)  After  con 
siderable  delay  the  brigade  moved  to  the  east  and  south 
east  of  the  town  and  halted  for  the  night,  the  men 
lying  down  upon  their  arms  in  confident  expectation 
of  engaging  the  enemy  with  the  morning  light. 

Greatly  did  officers  and  men  marvel  as  morning, 
noon,  and  afternoon  passed  in  inaction  —  on  our  part, 
not  on  the  enemy's,  for,  as  we  well  knew,  he  was  plying 
axe  and  pick  and  shovel  in  fortifying  a  position  which 


STEUART'S  BRIGADE  AT  GETTYSBURG  195 

was  already  sufficiently  formidable.  Meanwhile  one  of 
our  staff  conducted  religious  services,  first  in  the  Tenth 
Virginia,  then  in  the  Second  Maryland  Regiment, 
the  men  gladly  joining  in  the  solemn  services,  which 
they  knew  would  be  for  many  of  their  number  the  last 
they  should  ever  engage  in  on  earth.  At  length,  after 
the  conclusion  of  that  tremendous  artillery  duel  which 
for  two  hours  shook  the  earth,  the  infantry  began  to 
move.  It  was  past  six  P.M.  before  our  brigade  was 
ordered  forward  —  nearly  twenty-four  hours  after  we  had 
gotten  into  position.  We  were  to  storm  the  eastern 
face  of  Gulp's  Hill,  a  rough  and  rugged  eminence  on 
the  southeast  of  the  town,  which  formed  the  key  to 
the  enemy's  right  centre.  Passing  first  through  a 
small  skirt  of  woods,  we  advanced  rapidly  in  line  of 
battle  across  a  corn  field  which  lay  between  us  and  the 
base  of  the  hill,  the  enemy  opening  upon  us  briskly 
as  soon  as  we  were  unmasked.  Rock  creek,  waist- 
deep  in  some  places,  was  waded,  and  now  the  whole 
line,  except  the  First  North  Carolina,  held  in  reserve 
on  our  left  flank,  pressed  up  the  steep  acclivity  through 
the  darkness,  and  was  soon  hotly  engaged  with  the 
enemy.  After  the  conflict  had  been  going  on  for  some 
time,  I  ventured  to  urge  the  brigadier-general  com 
manding  to  send  forward  the  First  North  Carolina  to 
reinforce  their  struggling  comrades.1  Receiving  orders 
to  that  effect,  I  led  the  regiment  up  the  hill,  guided 

1  It  was  dark,  and  General  Steuart  detained  one  regiment  in  the 
field  mentioned  to  prevent  our  flank  being  turned.  The  firing  in  the 
woods  now  became  very  rapid,  and  volley  after  volley  echoed  and  re 
echoed  among  the  hills.  I  felt  very  anxious  about  our  boys  in  front, 
and  several  times  urged  General  Steuart  to  send  the  reserve  regiment 
to  the  support  of  the  remainder  of  the  brigade.  —  Extract  from  letter 
written  after  the  battle. 


196  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

only  by  the  flashes  of  the  muskets,  until  I  reached  a 
position  abreast  of  our  line  of  fire  on  the  right.  In 
front,  a  hundred  yards  or  so,  I  saw  another  line  of  fire, 
but  owing  to  the  thick  foliage  could  not  determine 
whether  the  musket  flashes  were  up  or  down  the  hill. 
Finding  that  bullets  were  whistling  over  our  heads, 
I  concluded  the  force  in  our  front  must  be  the  enemy, 
and  seeing,  as  I  thought,  an  admirable  chance  of  turn 
ing  their  flank,  I  urged  Colonel  Brown  to  move  rapidly 
forward  and  fire.  When  we  reached  what  I  supposed 
the  proper  position,  I  shouted,  "Fire  on  them,  boys; 
fire  on  them!"  At  that  moment  Major  Parsley,  the 
gallant  officer  in  command  of  the  Third  North  Carolina, 
rushed  up  and  shouted,  "They  are  our  own  men." 
Owing  to  the  din  of  battle  the  command  to  fire  had 
not  been  heard  except  by  those  nearest  to  me,  and  I 
believe  no  injury  resulted  from  my  mistake.  I  men 
tion  it  only  to  assume  the  responsibility  for  the  order. 
Soon  after  this  the  works1  were  gallantly  charged  and 
taken  about  9.30  P.M.,  after  a  hard  conflict  of  two  hours, 
in  which  the  Second  Maryland  and  the  Third  North 
Carolina  were  the  chief  sufferers.2  Among  those  who 
fell  severely  wounded  was  Col.  James  R.  Herbert,  of 
the  Second  Maryland.  The  losses  in  the  two  regiments 
named  were  heavy,  but  the  men  were  eager  to  press 
on  to  the  crest  of  the  hill.  This,  owing  to  the  darkness 

1  Let  me  tell  you  the  character  of  their  works.     They  were  built  of 
heavy  logs,  with  earth  piled  against  them  to  the  thickness  of  five  feet, 
and  abattis  in  front.  —  Extract  from  a  letter. 

2  Bates  (author  of  "  The  History  of  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg  ")  shows 
his  ignorance  of  the  real  state  of  the  conflict  when  he  says,  "the  fast- 
coming  darkness  drew  its  curtains  around  the  vulnerable  parts  every 
where  spread  out."     It  was  9  or  9.30  P.M.  before  the  works  to  which 
he  refers  were  taken  by  our  brigade  two  hours  after  dark. 


STEUART'S  BRIGADE  AT  GETTYSBURG  197 

and  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  it  was  resolved  not  to  do.1 
A  Federal  historian  (B.  J.  Lossing,  in  his  "Pictorial  His 
tory  of  the  Civil  War")  gives  the  following  account 
of  this  night  conflict:  " Johnson  moved  under  cover  of 
the  woods  and  deepening  twilight,  and  expected  an 
easy  conquest  by  which  a  way  would  be  opened  for  the 
remainder  of  Swell's  corps  to  the  National  rear;  but 
he  found  a  formidable  antagonist  in  Greene's  brigade. 
The  assault  was  made  with  great  vigor,  but  for  more  than 
two  hours  Greene,  assisted  by  a  part  of  Wadsworth's 
command,  fought  the  assailants,  strewing  the  wooded 
slope  in  front  of  the  works  with  the  Confederate  dead 
and  wounded,  and  holding  his  position  firmly.  Finally, 
his  antagonist  penetrated  the  works  near  Spangler's 
Spring,  from  which  the  troops  had  been  temporarily 
withdrawn."  (Vol.  Ill,  p.  691.)  This  statement 
needs  correction.  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that 
the  works  taken  by  Steuart's  brigade  that  night  were 
occupied  by  Federal  troops  and  that  they  poured  a 
deadly  fire  into  its  ranks.  After  this  fire  had  been 
kept  up  for  two  hours  those  troops  were  indeed  "  with 
drawn"  —  but  the  orders  came  from  the  men  of  Steuart's 
brigade,  and  they  were  delivered  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet.2 

1  Again  and  again  did  the  rebels  attack  in  front  and  flank;  but  as 
often  as  they  approached  they  were  stricken  down  and  disappeared. 
(Bates'  "Gettysburg,"  p.  139.)  This  is  one  of  his  many  misstatements. 
I  say  of  my  own  knowledge  that  the  only  troops  in  position  to  assault 
this  work  on  the  flank  were  those  of  the  Third  Brigade,  and  they  made 
no  attempt  to  take  it  until  the  next  day.  This  is,  unhappily,  too 
true.  An  assault  then  would  have  promised  success. 

2 1  find  a  similar  statement  in  Swinton's  "Army  of  the  Potomac," 
p.  355,  in  a  pamphlet  by  Dr.  Jacobs,  and  in  an  article  by  General 
Howard  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  July,  1876.  I  was  at  a  loss  to  account 
for  it  until  I  observed  that  General  Howard  describes  the  vacated 


198  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

It  is  sufficient  answer  to  this  statement  of  the 
Federal  historian  to  quote  the  language  of  General 
Lee's  official  report  (Southern  Historical  Society  Papers 
for  July,  1876,  p.  42):  "The  troops  of  the  former 
(Johnson)  moved  steadily  up  the  steep  and  rugged 
ascent  under  heavy  fire,  driving  the  enemy  into  his 
intrenchments,  part  of  which  were  carried  by  Steuart's 
brigade,  and  a  number  of  prisoners  taken." 

The  position  thus  so  hardly  l  won  and  at  so  dear  a 
cost  was  one  of  great  importance.  It  was  within  a 

works  as  situated  between  McAllister's  Mill  and  Gulp's  Hill.  From 
these  works  part  of  the  12th  Corps  had  been  withdrawn  to  reinforce 
Meade's  left.  But  these  were  not  the  works  occupied  by  Steuart's  brigade, 
whose  charge  was  made  on  Gulp's  Hill  itself,  to  the  north  of  Spangler's 
Spring.  Bates  says:  "Passing  over  the  abandoned  breastworks  further 
to  the  right,  the  enemy  found  nothing  to  oppose  him,  and  pushed  out 
through  the  woods  in  their  rear  over  the  stone  fences  that  skirt  the 
fields  farther  to  the  south,  and  had  nearly  gained  the  Baltimore  pike. 
Indeed,  the  reserve  artillery  and  ammunition,  and  the  headquarters 
of  General  Slocum,  the  commander  of  the  right  wing  of  the  army, 
were  within  musket  range  of  his  farthest  advance."  (Page  140.) 
This  statement,  if  true  at  all,  must  have  reference  to  the  movements  of 
troops  on  our  left.  Steuart's  men  did  not  advance  beyond  those 
redoubtable  works  which,  although  vacant,  belched  forth  flame  and 
Minie  balls,  which  were  just  as  fatal  as  though  they  had  been  occupied 
by  soldiers!  Being  dark,  we  cannot  say  we  saw  the  men  behind  them, 
but  we  saw  the  musketry  flashes  and  we  felt  the  balls  that  came  thick 
into  our  ranks,  and  some  of  the  private  soldiers  who  survive  testify 
that  when  they  leaped  the  works  they  saw  dead  and  wounded  Federal 
soldiers  on  the  other  side. 

1  Bates  himself,  on  another  page  (147),  makes  an  admission  fatal 
to  his  former  assertion:  "  On  the  extreme  Union  right  he  had  effected 
a  lodgment  [this,  remember,  General  Lee  says  was  done  by  Steuart's 
brigade],  and  had  pushed  forward  in  dangerous  proximity  to  the  very 
vitals  of  the  army;  .  .  .  the  night  was  sure  to  give  opportunity  for 
dispositions  which  would  oust  him  FROM  HIS  ALREADY  DEAR-BOUGHT 
ADVANTAGE."  How  was  it  ' ' dear-bought "  if  occupied  without  oppo 
sition?  Verily,  unoccupied  breastworks  must  have  been  fatal  spots 
in  that  battle. 


STEUART'S    BRIGADE   AT    GETTYSBURG  199 

few  hundred  yards  of  the  Baltimore  turnpike,  which 
I  think  it  commanded.  Its  capture  was  a  breach  in 
the  enemy's  lines  through  which  troops  might  have 
been  poured  and  the  strong  positions  of  Cemetery  Hill 
rendered  untenable.  General  Howard  says:  "The 
ground  was  rough,  and  the  woods  so  thick  that  their 
generals  did  not  realize  till  morning  what  they  had 
gained."  Dr.  Jacobs  says:  "This  might  have  proved 
disastrous  to  us  had  it  not  occurred  at  so  late  an  hour." 
And  Swinton  declares  it  was  "a  position  which,  if  held 
by  him,  would  enable  him  to  take  Meade's  entire  line  in 
reverse."  ("Army  of  the  Potomac,"  p.  355.1) 

It  is  only  in  keeping  with  the  haphazard  character 
of  the  whole  battle  that  the  capture  of  a  point  of  such 
strategic  importance  should  not  have  been  taken  advan 
tage  of  by  the  Confederates.  It  remains,  however, 
no  less  a  proud  memory  for  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
Third  Brigade  that  their  prowess  gained  for  the  Con 
federate  general  a  position  where  "Meade's  entire  line 
might  have  been  taken  in  reverse." 

But  if  the  Confederates  did  not  realize  what  they  had 
gained,  the  Federals  were  fully  aware  what  they  had 
lost.  Accordingly,  they  spent  the  night  massing  troops 
and  artillery  for  an  effort  to  regain  their  works.  "  Dur 
ing  the  night,"  says  Swinton  (page  356),  "a  powerful 
artillery  was  accumulated  against  the  point  entered 
by  the  enemy."  Through  the  long  hours  of  the  night 
we  heard  the  rumbling  of  their  guns,  and  thought 
they  were  evacuating  the  hill.  The  first  streak  of  day- 

1  Bates  is  of  the  same  opinion:  "Had  he  known  the  advantage  which 
was  open  to  him,  and  all  that  we  now  know,  he  might,  with  the  troops 
he  had,  have  played  havoc  with  the  trains,  and  set  the  whole  army 
in  retreat;  but  he  was  ignorant  of  the  prize  which  was  within  his  grasp." 
-  Page  140. 


200  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

light  revealed  our  mistake.  It  was  scarcely  dawn 
(the  writer  of  this  had  just  lain  down  to  sleep  after  a 
night  in  the  saddle)  when  their  artillery  opened  upon 
us,  at  a  range  of  about  500  yards,  a  terrific  and  gall 
ing  fire,  to  which  we  had  no  means  of  replying,  as  our 
guns  could  not  be  dragged  up  that  steep  and  rugged 
ascent.1  Then,  a  little  after  sunrise,  their  infantry 
moved  forward  in  heavy  force  to  attack  us.  "The 
troops  of  the  12th  Corps/7  says  Swinton,  "had  re 
turned  from  the  left,  and  the  divisions  of  Williams  and 
Geary,  aided  by  Shaler's  brigade,  of  the  Sixth  Corps, 
entered  upon  a  severe  struggle  to  regain  the  lost  posi 
tion  of  the  line."  2  They  drove  in  our  skirmishers, 
but  could  not  dislodge  us  from  the  works  we  had  cap 
tured,  although  these  were  commanded  in  part  by  the 
works  on  the  crest  of  the  hill  to  our  right,  whence  a  gall 
ing  fire  was  poured  into  our  ranks.  Next  a  strong 
effort  was  made  to  take  us  in  flank,  and  I  well  remem 
ber  that  at  one  time  our  line  resembled  three  sides  of 
a  pentagon,  the  left  side  being  composed  of  some  other 
brigade,  centre  and  right  composed  of  our  own  bri 
gade,  which  thus  occupied  the  most  advanced  position 
toward  the  crest  of  the  hill.3  About  this  time,  I  think, 

1  "To  one  conversant  with  the  ground,  it  is  now  apparent  why  the 
enemy  did  not  reply.     The  creek,  the  forest,  and  the  steep  acclivities 
made  it  utterly  impossible  for  him  to  move  up  his  guns,  and  this  cir 
cumstance  contributed  to  the  weakness  of  his  position  and  the  futility 
of  his  occupation  of  this  part  of  the  line.  .  .  .  But,  though  he  fought 
with  a  determined  bravery  well  worthy  the  name  of  the  old-time  leader, 
yet  he  gained  no  ground  and  had  sustained  terrible  losses." 

2  The  enemy  was  evidently  before  us  in  immense  numbers,  and  posted 
behind  two  lines  of  breastworks.     To  resist  them  we  had  but  one 
division,   which  was    subsequently  strengthened    by  the  brigades  of 
Smith  and  Daniel.  —  Extract  from  a  letter. 

3  "The  crest  of  the  hill  to  the  right  was  still  more  difficult  of  approach, 


STEUART'S    BRIGADE   AT    GETTYSBURG  201 

word  came  to  General  Steuart  that  the  men's  ammuni 
tion  was  almost  exhausted.  One  of  his  staff  immedi 
ately  took  three  men  and  went  on  foot  to  the  wagons, 
distant  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter,  and  brought  up 
two  boxes  of  cartridges.  "  We  emptied  each  box  into  a 
blanket  and  swung  the  blanket  on  a  rail,  and  so  carried 
it  to  the  front."  It  was  now,  I  think,  about  half-past 
nine,  and  ever  since  four  o'clock  the  fire  of  the  enemy 
had  been  almost  continuous,  at  times  tremendous.1 
Professor  Jacobs  says,  "The  battle  raged  furiously,  and 
was  maintained  with  desperate  obstinacy  on  both  sides." 
He  goes  on  to  speak  of  the  " terrible  slaughter"  of  our 
men.  General  Howard  says:  "I  went  over  the  ground 
five  years  after  the  battle,  and  marks  of  the  struggle 
were  still  to  be  observed  —  the  moss  on  the  rocks 
was  discolored  in  hundreds  of  places  where  the  bul 
lets  had  struck;  the  trees,  as  cut  off,  lopped  down, 
or  shivered,  were  still  there;  stumps  and  trees  were 

and  from  it  the  enemy  were  able  to  enfilade  our  whole  line.  .  .  .  The 
struggle  for  the  hill  now  became  more  and  more  fierce.  The  enemy 
endeavored  to  drive  us  out  of  the  works.  They  attacked  us  in  front 
and  in  flank,  and  opened  a  terrific  cannonading  upon  us  from  a  battery 
posted  about  500  yards  off.  ...  On  the  right  and  left  flank,  where 
our  lines  were  almost  perpendicular  to  the  front  line,  there  were  no 
breastworks,  and  the  struggle  was  very  fierce  and  bloody.  Our  men 
maintained  their  position,  however,  and  received  reinforcements." 
(Extract  from  a  letter.}  The  Third  North  Carolina  was  on  the  right, 
and  suffered  most  heavily  during  this  part  of  the  battle,  so  that  but 
a  handful  were  left  to  participate  in  the  final  charge. 

1  "As  the  day  wore  on,  the  heat  from  the  fire  and  smoke  of  battle, 
and  the  scorching  of  the  July  sun,  became  so  intense  as  to  be  almost 
past  endurance.  Men  were  completely  exhausted  in  the  progress 
of  the  struggle,  and  had  to  be  often  relieved;  but  revived  by  fresh  air 
and  a  little  period  of  rest,  again  returned  to  the  front."  (Bates, 
p.  142.)  No  such  refreshing  rest  had  our  brave  men.  They  were  never 
relieved  for  a  moment  during  all  that  seven-hours'  unintermitting  fire 
of  which  General  Kane  speaks. 


202  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

perforated  with  holes  where  leaden  balls  had  since 
been  dug  out,  and  remnants  of  the  rough  breastworks 
remained.  I  did  not  wonder  that  General  Geary,  who 
was  in  the  thickest  of  this  fight,  thought  the  main 
battle  of  Gettysburg  must  have  been  fought  there."  1 
(Atlantic  Monthly,  July,  1876,  p.  66.) 

But  all  the  efforts  of  the  enemy  failed  to  dislodge 
us.  Unassisted,  the  Third  Brigade  held  the  position 
they  had  won  the  night  before.  Several  writers  speak 
of  Johnson  being  heavily  reinforced.  It  may  be.  But 
I  feel  sure  that  that  far-advanced  line  of  earthworks 
into  which  Steuart  had  driven  his  brigade  like  a  wedge 
the  night  before  was  held  by  him  alone  through  all 
those  terrible  hours  on  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  July. 
The  reinforcements  which  came  to  Johnson  must 
have  been  employed  on  the  flanks  or  on  some  other 
portion  of  the  line  than  that  occupied  by  us.2 

1  Whitelaw  Reid  wrote  as  follows:  "From  4  to  5  there  was  heavy 
cannonading  also  from  our  batteries  nearest  the  contested  points.  .  .  . 
The  rebels  made  no  reply.   .   .   .  The  musketry  crash  continued  with 
unparalleled  tenacity  and  vehemence."     (Bates,  p.  142.)     Later  in  the 
morning  he  says:  "The  batteries  began  to  open  again  on  points  along 
our  outer  line.     They  were  evidently  playing  on  what  had  been  Slo- 
cum's  line  of  yesterday.     The  rebels  then  were  still  in  our  rifle-pits. 
Presently  the  battery  on  Slocum's  Hill  .  .  .  opened  too,  aiming  ap 
parently  in  the  same  direction.     Other  batteries  along  the  inner  line, 
just  to  the  left  of  the  Baltimore  pike  [McAllister's  Hill]  followed  the 
signal,  and  one  after  another  opened  up,  till  every  little  crest  between 
Slocum's  headquarters  and  Cemetery  Hill  began  belching  its  thunder. 
.   .   .  Still  no  artillery  response  from  the  rebels."  -—  Page  143. 

2  My  diary  says  that  Johnson  was   "subsequently"  reinforced  by 
the  brigades  of  Smith  and  Daniel.     Probably  this  was  just  before 
the  last  fatal  charge.     I  remember  the  latter  brigade  coming  up  at 
that  time.     I  did  not  see  it  before,  and  I  did  not  see  Smith's  brigade 
at  all.     Or  both  brigades  may  have  been  employed  on  the  right  and 
left  flanks  at  an  earlier  hour.     I  would  only  state  it  as  my  conviction 
that  the  captured  works  were  held  by  the  men  who  captured  them  from 


STEUART'S    BRIGADE   AT    GETTYSBURG          203 

Then  came  General  EwelPs  order  to  assume  the  offen 
sive  and  assail  the  crest  of  Gulp's  Hill,  on  our  right. 
My  diary  says  that  both  General  Steuart  and  General 
Daniel,  who  now  came  up  with  his  brigade  to  support 
the  movement,  strongly  disapproved  of  making  the 
assault.  And  well  might  they  despair  of  success  in 
the  face  of  such  difficulties.  The  works  to  be  stormed 
ran  almost  at  right  angles  to  those  we  occupied.1 
Moreover,  there  was  a  double  line  of  entrenchments, 
one  above  the  other,  and  each  filled  with  troops.  In 
moving  to  the  attack  we  were  exposed  to  enfilading 
fire  from  the  woods  on  our  left  flank,  besides  the  double 
line  of  fire  which  we  had  to  face  in  front,  and  a  battery 
of  artillery  posted  on  a  hill  to  our  left  rear  opened  upon 
us  at  short  range.2  What  wonder,  then,  if  Steuart 
was  reluctant  to  lead  his  men  into  such  a  slaughter- 
pen,  from  which  he  saw  there  could  be  no  issue  but 
death  and  defeat!  But  though  he  remonstrated,  he 
gallantly  obeyed  without  delay  the  orders  he  received, 
giving  the  command,  "Left  face/'  and  afterwards, 
"File  right."  He  made  his  men  leap  the  breastworks 
and  form  in  line  of  battle  on  the  other  side  at  right 
angles,  nearly,  to  their  previous  position,  galled  all  the 

9  P.M.,  July  2d,  to  10  A.M.,  July  3d,  and  by  none  others.  During 
the  last  hour  of  their  occupation  (10  to  11)  the  right  of  the  works  was 
held  by  the  brigade  of  General  Daniel. 

1  They  were  confident  of  their  ability  to  sweep  him  away  and  take 
the  whole  Union  line  in  reverse.     Fortunately,   Greene  had  caused 
his  flank  to  be  fortified  by  a  very  heavy  work,  which  the  make  of  the 
ground  favored,  extending  some  distance  at  right  angles  to  his  main 
line.  —  Bates'  "  Gettysburg,"  p.  139. 

2  Professor  Jacobs  seems  to  allude  to  this  when  he  says:   "In  this 
work  of  death,  a  battery  of  artillery  placed  on  a  hill  to  the  right  of  the 
Baltimore  turnpike,  and  some  distance  south  of   the  cemetery,  was 
found  to  have  performed  a  prominent  part." — Page  40. 


204  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

time  by  a  brisk  fire  from  the  enemy.  Then  drawing  his 
sword,  he  gave  the  command,  " Charge  bayonets!"  and 
moved  forward  on  foot  with  his  men  into  the  jaws  of 
death.  On  swept  the  gallant  little  brigade,  the  Third 
North  Carolina  on  the  right  of  the  line,  next  the  Second 
Maryland,  then  the  three  Virginia  regiments  (10th,  23d, 
and  37th),  with  the  First  North  Carolina  on  the  extreme 
left.  Its  ranks  had  been  sadly  thinned,  and  its  energies 
greatly  depleted  by  those  six  fearful  hours  of  battle 
that  morning;  but  its  nerve  and  spirit  were  undimin- 
ished.  Soon,  however,  the  left  and  centre  were  checked 
and  then  repulsed,  probably  by  the  severe  flank  fire 
from  the  woods;  and  the  small  remnant  of  the  Third 
North  Carolina,  with  the  stronger  Second  Maryland 
(I  do  not  recall  the  banners  of  any  other  regiment),  were 
far  in  advance  of  the  rest  of  the  line.  On  they  pressed 
to  within  about  twenty  or  thirty  paces  of  the  works— 
a  small  but  gallant  band  of  heroes  daring  to  attempt 
what  could  not  be  done  by  flesh  and  blood.1 

The  end  soon  came.  We  were  beaten  back  to  the 
line  from  which  we  had  advanced  with  terrible  loss, 
and  in  much  confusion,  but  the  enemy  did  not  make  a 

1  Since  writing  the  above  I  have  met  with  the  following  account 
of  this  memorable  charge  in  Bates'  book  (page  144):  "  Suddenly  the 
quiet  was  broken  by  a  yell  bursting  from  thousands  of  lungs,  and  the 
next  instant  their  gray  lines  emerged  in  sight  dashing  madly  on.  ... 
They  had  scarcely  come  into  easy  musket  range  when  the  men  in 
blue  along  the  line  sprang  to  their  feet  and  poured  in  a  deliberate  volley. 
The  shock  was  terrible.  The  on-coming  force  was  staggered,  and  for 
a  moment  sought  shelter  behind  trees  and  rocks;  but  obedient  to  the 
voices  of  their  officers,  they  struggled  on,  some  of  the  most  desperate 
coming  within  twenty  paces  of  the  Union  front.  'It  cannot  be  denied/ 
says  Kane,  'that  they  behaved  courageously.'  They  did  what  the 
most  resolute  could  do,  but  it  was  all  in  vain.  .  .  .  Broken  and  well- 
nigh  annihilated,  the  survivors  of  the  charge  staggered  back,  leaving 
the  ground  strewn  with  their  dead  and  desperately  wounded." 


STEUARTS    BRIGADE   AT   GETTYSBURG  205 

counter  charge.  By  the  strenuous  efforts  of  the  offi 
cers  of  the  line  and  of  the  staff,  order  was  restored, 
and  we  re-formed  in  the  breastworks  from  which  we 
had  emerged,  there  to  be  again  exposed  to  an  artillery 
fire  exceeding  in  violence  that  of  the  early  morning. 
It  remains  only  to  say  that,  like  Pickett's  men  later 
in  the  day,  this  single  brigade  was  hurled  unsupported 
against  the  enemy's  works.  Daniel's  brigade  remained 
in  the  breastworks  during  and  after  the  charge,  and 
neither  from  that  command  nor  from  any  other  had  we 
any  support.  Of  course  it  is  to  be  presumed  that 
General  Daniel  acted  in  obedience  to  orders.1  We 

1  "As  soon  as  we  were  unmasked  a  most  terrific  fire  was  opened 
upon  us  from  three  directions.  In  front,  on  a  rising  ground  heavily 
wooded,  the  enemy  were  posted  in  two  lines  behind  breastworks,  one 
above  the  other,  so  that  both  lines  fired  upon  us  at  once.  On  the  left 
was  a  piece  of  woods,  from  which  the  enemy's  sharpshooters  opened  a 
very  galling  fire,  raking  our  whole  line.  This  decided  the  failure  of 
our  attempt  to  storm  their  works,  for  the  regiments  of  the  left  first 
halted  (while  the  right  of  the  line  advanced),  and  then  fell  back.  .  .  . 
Still  we  pressed  on.  General  Steuart,  Captain  Williamson,  and  I 
were  all  on  the  right  centre,  where  were  the  Second  Maryland  and  eight 
men  of  the  Third  North  Carolina.  Oh!  it  was  a  gallant  band.  We  had 
our  sabres  drawn,  and  were  cheering  on  the  men,  but  there  was  little 
need  of  it.  Their  gallantry  did  not  avail,  and  their  noble  blood  was 
spilled  in  vain.  ...  It  was  as  if  the  sickle  of  Death  had  passed  along  the 
line  and  mown  down  the  noblest  and  the  bravest.  Major  Golds- 
borough  fell  (as  we  supposed),  mortally  wounded.  That  brave  officer 
and  noble  gentleman,  Captain  Murray,  fell  dead.  Friends  dropped 
all  around  me,  and  lay  writhing  on  the  ground.  ...  It  was  more  than 
men  could  endure,  and  reluctantly  they  commenced  falling  back. 
Then  our  task  was  to  prevent  a  rout,  for  the  brigade  was  terribly 
cut  up  and  the  men  much  demoralized.  Behind  some  rocks  we  rallied 
the  scattered  regiments  and  made  a  stand.  Finally  we  took  our  old 
position  behind  the  breastworks,  supported  by  Daniel's  brigade. 
Here  we  lay  for  about  an  hour  under  the  most  furious  infantry  and 
artillery  fire  I  have  ever  experienced,  but  without  much  loss."  (Extract 
from  a  letter  describing  the  battle.}  I  give  it  just  as  I  find  it,  adding  that 
if  the  tattered  battle  flag  of  the  Third  North  Carolina  was  followed  by 


206  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

remained  in  this  breastwork  after  the  charge  about  an 
hour  before  we  finally  abandoned  the  Federal  entrench 
ments  and  retired  to  the  foot  of  the  hill.  The  Federal 
historians  say  we  were  driven  from  our  position.  Thus 
Swinton  affirms  that  "it  was  carried  by  a  charge  of 
Geary's  division."  This  statement  I  deny  as  an  eye 
witness  and  sharer  in  the  conflict  to  the  close,  and  as 
one  of  the  staff  who  assisted  in  carrying  out  the  order 
withdrawing  the  troops  to  the  base  of  the  hill.  It  was 
a  very  difficult  thing  to  withdraw  the  fragments  of  a 
shattered  brigade  down  a  steep  hill  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy,  and  I  have  a  vivid  recollection  of  our  apprehen 
sions  of  the  result  of  such  a  movement.  But  it  was 
done,  not  before  a  charge  of  the  enemy,  but  in  obedi 
ence  to  orders,  and  we  were  not  pursued,  nor  were  the 
works  occupied  by  the  Federals  until  we  reached  Rock 
creek,  at  the  base  of  the  hill. 

A  few  of  our  men  on  our  left,  rather  than  incur  the 
danger  of  retiring  down  the  hill  under  that  very  heavy 
fire,  remained  behind  in  the  entrenchments  and  gave 
themselves  up.  The  base  of  the  hill  reached,  skir 
mishers  were  thrown  out,  and  we  remained  on  the  west 
side  of  Rock  creek  till  11.30  P.M.,  when  we  retired 
silently  and  unmolested.  I  find  the  following  record 
in  my  diary  referring  to  the  time  when  we  retired  to 
the  foot  of  the  hill:  "New  troops  were  brought  on, 
and  fighting  continued  until  now  (five  P.M.)."  This 
must  refer  to  picket  firing. 

It  only  remains  that  I  give  such  statement  of  our 
losses  as  my  materials  enable  me  to  make.  Unfortu 
nately,  I  have  returns  only  from  three  regiments  re- 
only  a  handful,  it  was  because  they  had  already  suffered  more  heavily 
than  any  other  regiment. 


STEUART'S  BRIGADE  AT  GETTYSBURG     207 

corded.  In  the  Tenth  Virginia  (which  I  think  was 
very  small)  the  loss  was  (killed,  wounded,  and  missing) 
64.  This  I  have  not  been  able  to  verify.  The  Third 
North  Carolina  lost,  according  to  my  memoranda 
(killed,  wounded,  and  missing)  207  out  of  312  men. 
Dr.  Wood,  of  that  regiment,  writes  that  this  corresponds 
very  nearly  to  statistics  in  his  possession.  The  Second 
Maryland  lost,  according  to  my  notes,  206  men.  Other 
estimates  (by  Colonel  Herbert  and  Major  Golds- 
borough)  put  their  loss,  one  at  250,  the  other  at  222. 
One  company,  that  of  the  lamented  William  H.  Mur 
ray,  carried  into  battle  92  men  and  lost  18  killed,  37 
wounded;  total  55.  Another  estimate  (by  the  orderly 
sergeant  of  Company  A)  puts  it  at  62.  My  diary 
states  that  the  brigade  mustered  about  2,200  before 
the  battle.  At  Hagerstown,  on  the  8th  of  July,  about 
1,200  men  reported  for  duty.  It  is  probable  that 
others  subsequently  came  in,  as  I  cannot  think  the 
loss  was  so  great  as  1,000  men,  in  the  face  of  the  follow 
ing  entry  in  my  diary,  July  4th:  "  Total  loss  in  the 
brigade  (killed,  wounded,  and  missing),  680." 

There  were  probably  many  stragglers  on  the  march 
to  Williamsport,  some  of  whom  may  have  been  taken 
prisoners;  but  many  no  doubt  afterward  came  in. 
The  entire  loss  might  be  put  at  800. l 

1  "What  a  field  was  this!  For  three  hours  of  the  previous  evening, 
and  seven  of  the  morning,  had  the  most  terrible  elements  of  destruction 
known  to  modern  warfare  been  wielded  with  a  might  and  dexterity 
rarely  if  ever  paralleled.  The  woods  in  which  the  battle  had  been 
fought  was  torn  and  rent  with  shells  and  solid  shot  and  pierced  with 
innumerable  Minie  balls.  Trees  were  broken  off  and  splintered, 
and  that  entire  forest,  where  the  battle  raged  most  furiously,  was, 
on  the  following  year,  leafless,  the  stately  but  mute  occupants  having 
yielded  up  their  lives  with  those  whom  they  overshadowed."  (Bates' 
' '  Gettysburg, "  p.  145 . )  And  speaking  of  the  state  of  the  hill  on  the  4th : 


208  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

These  fearful  losses  sufficiently  indicate  the  charac 
ter  of  the  work  those  brave  men  were  called  on  to  do. 
The  Light  Brigade  at  Balaklava  lost  about  one-third 
of  their  number  (247  men  out  of  673  officers  and  men) 
in  their  famous  charge.  That,  indeed,  was  over  in 
twenty  minutes,  while  these  two  regiments  sustained 
their  loss  of  one-half  and  two-thirds  during  a  conflict 
of  ten  hours  duration.  But  at  least  we  may  claim  for 
the  men  of  the  Third  Brigade  that  they  maintained  a 
long  and  unequal  contest  with  a  valor  and  a  constancy 
worthy  of  the  best  troops. 

"We  came  upon  numberless  forms  clad  in  gray,  either  stark  and  stiff  or 
else  still  weltering  in  their  blood.  .  .  .  Turning  whichever  way  we  chose, 
the  eye  rested  upon  human  forms  lying  in  all  imaginable  positions.  .  .  . 
We  were  surprised  at  the  accuracy  as  well  as  the  bloody  results  of  our 
fire.  It  was  indeed  dreadful  to  witness."  —  Id.  p.  145. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

PREPARATION   FOR  THE    CHAPLAINCY!    FIRST    EXPERI 
ENCE    IN    THE    FIELD 

TN  the  autumn  of  1863,  I  tendered  my  resignation 
•••  as  first  lieutenant  and  aide-de-camp,  in  order  to  pre 
pare  myself  for  ordination  to  the  ministry  of  the  Prot 
estant  Episcopal  Church.  This  was  in  fulfilment  of 
a  resolution  recorded  in  my  diary,  Jan.  1,  1863,  that 
if  the  war  did  not  terminate  in  the  approaching  cam 
paign,  I  would  not  feel  justified  in  longer  delaying  my 
preparation  for  the  ministry,  to  which  I  had  devoted 
myself  when  I  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  My  action 
was  stimulated  by  my  deep  sense  of  the  pressing  need 
of  chaplains  in  the  army,  and  my  conviction  that 
the  opportunities  for  usefulness  therein  were  very 
great. 

In  tendering  my  resignation  to  Gen.  S.  Cooper, 
adjutant  and  inspector-general,  at  Richmond,  I  stated 
that  I  had  been  "  looking  forward  to  the  Christian 
ministry  for  the  last  five  years,  and  for  several  months 
had  been  a  candidate  for  orders  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church."  I  added  that  it  was  "my  desire 
to  commence  my  studies  at  once  at  the  seminary  in 
order  to  be  prepared  for  ordination  the  ensuing  spring, 
at  which  time  it  is  my  purpose  to  reenter  the  service 
in  the  capacity  of  chaplain."  And  I  further  stated 
that  I  was  not  "  actuated  by  a  desire  to  avoid  duty  in 
the  field,  but  by  the  wish  to  fit  myself  for  a  position 

209 


210  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

in  which  I  shall  be  able  to  render  the  army  more  effi 
cient  service  than  at  present." 

Brigadier-General  Steuart,  my  chief,  endorsed  my 
application  in  the  following  terms: 

"  Approved  and  respectfully  forwarded.  I  appointed 
Lieutenant  McKim  my  A.  D.  C.  on  account  of  the  faithful 
and  efficient  manner  in  which  he  performed  his  duty  as  a 
soldier  in  the  First  Maryland  Regiment.  He  acted  most 
gallantly  at  Cross  Keys,  Winchester,  and  Gettysburg,  and 
has  always  discharged  his  duties  faithfully.  I  regret  to  lose 
his  services,  but  consider  the  reasons  he  assigns  sufficient, 
having  been  cognizant  of  the  facts. 

"  (Signed) 

"GEO.  H.  STEUART, 

"Brig.- Gen." 

Major-General  Johnson  also  approved  my  applica 
tion,  and  finally  General  Lee  himself,  and  accordingly 
it  was  accepted  by  the  President,  to  take  effect  Sept.  1, 
1863. 

I  left  the  army  with  a  heavy  heart.  Though  the 
step  I  had  taken  was  dictated  by  a  high  sense  of  duty, 
it  cost  me  a  painful  effort.  Indeed  I  can  truly  say  that 
it  was  a  severer  test  of  my  courage  to  turn  my  back 
on  my  general  and  my  brother  officers,  and  those  brave 
soldiers  whom  I  had  led,  than  to  face  the  Federal  breast 
works  on  Gulp's  Hill.  I  had,  however,  every  evidence 
that  both  officers  and  men  respected  my  motives  and 
understood  my  purpose.  It  had  been  generally  known 
among  them  that  I  was  a  candidate  for  orders,  and  I 
had  so  often  conducted  religious  service  in  camp  and 
even  on  the  battle  field  that  it  was  no  surprise  to  them 
that  I  should  now  go  forward  to  the  consummation  of 
my  purpose  to  enter  the  ministry.  But,  in  spite  of  this, 


PREPARATION  FOR  CHAPLAINCY  211 

I  could  not  overcome  the  thought  that  my  retirement 
from  the  army  looked  like  the  desertion  of  my  comrades 
and  of  the  cause.1 

My  studies  were  conducted  at  Staunton,  Virginia, 
under  the  Rev.  Wm.  Sparrow,  D.D.,  dean  of  the  Theo 
logical  Seminary  of  Virginia.  He  was  the  only  pro 
fessor,  but  he  was  a  host  in  himself  —  a  fine  Greek  and 
Hebrew  scholar,  a  theologian  of  great  learning,  and  a 
profound  and  original  thinker,  to  whom  Phillips  Brooks 
felt  deeply  indebted.  In  Greek  and  Latin  I  had  grad 
uated  at  the  University  of  Virginia;  also  in  moral 
philosophy;  so  that  Hebrew  and  apologetics,  with 
church  history  and  theology  proper,  were  now  my 
chief  concern.  The  previous  winter  I  had  studied  alone 
Home's  " Introduction  to  the  Bible."  Under  these 
circumstances  and  under  such  an  inspiring  teacher 
as  Dr.  Sparrow,  I  was  able,  by  diligence,  to  fit  myself 
to  pass  my  examinations  for  deacon's  orders,  after  eight 
months  study,  and  was  ordered  deacon  by  Bishop 
John  Johns,  of  Virginia,  May  llth,  1864,  in  Trinity 

1  In  a  letter  to  my  mother  about  this  time  I  wrote:  "Though  I  shrank 
from  the  imputation  which  some  would  probably  cast  upon  such  a 
course  at  such  a  crisis,  —  duty  was  imperative  even  more  than  honor!  — 
God  has  made  the  way  easy  for  me,  and  instead  of  opposition  and  mis 
construction,  I  have  been  astonished  to  find  how  generally  my  course 
has  been  approved  and  my  motives  appreciated  by  my  friends.  General 
Steuart  in  his  endorsement  of  my  resignation  gives  me  the  credit  of 
'having  performed  my  duties  faithfully.' 

"It  was  approved  by  my  division  commander  and  by  Lieutenant- 
General  Ewell,  and  also  by  General  Lee,  and  finally  by  the  President, 
to  take  effect  September  1,  1863.  I  tell  you  this,  my  mother,  that 
you  may  know  that,  though  your  son  has  left  the  field,  his  escutcheon 
is  still  untarnished  by  the  imputation  of  fear.  Tell  papa  that  I  recollect 
that  he  did  not  use  to  think  me  a  brave  boy.  I  do  not  think  I  am 
naturally  so,  but  I  have  moral  courage  at  least,  and  my  confidence  in 
God  has  taken  away  all  fear  of  death,  when  in  the  discharge  of  my  duty." 


212  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Church,  Staunton,  Virginia.  I  had  several  fellow- 
students,  Wm.  F.  Gardner,  Edward  H.  Ingle,  and  Hor 
ace  Hayden.  During  the  winter  I  gave  lessons  in 
French  and  Latin  to  the  daughters  of  the  Rev.  Rich 
ard  H.  Phillips,  my  father-in-law. 

Such  spare  time  as  I  could  command  was  largely 
spent  in  the  hospitals  in  work  among  the  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers.  That  was  before  the  discovery  of 
antiseptic  surgery,  and  consequently  the  sufferings 
of  the  wounded  were  far  greater  than  would  now  be 
the  case,  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  hospitals  was 
often  painfully  offensive,  making  work  there  very  try 
ing  to  the  nerves.  The  devotion  of  the  women  of  the 
South  to  the  sick  and  the  wounded  was  sublimely 
beautiful.  They  never  flinched  or  wearied  in  their 
blessed  labors  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the  poor 
fellows  who  were  wounded  or  stricken  with  disease. 
Indeed  the  community  was  like  one  family.  Such  was 
the  unity  of  feeling,  such  the  common  devotion  to  the 
cause,  that  it  was  like  the  communal  life  in  the  early 
Church.  Whatever  the  people  had,  of  means,  or  of 
comforts,  or  of  luxuries,  was  freely  poured  out  for  the 
brave  fellows  who  were  suffering  in  the  hospitals 
(many  of  which  were  churches  or  chapels  converted 
to  that  use)  for  the  Confederacy.  It  might  almost 
have  been  said,  "The  multitude  were  of  one  heart 
and  one  soul;  and  none  of  them  said  that  aught  of  the 
things  which  he  possessed  was  his  own,  but  they  had 
all  things  common."  History  will  hardly  show  a  nearer 
approximation  to  that  primitive  communal  unity 
than  was  seen  in  the  South,  and  perhaps  especially 
in  Virginia,  which  was  the  chief  theatre  of  the  war. 
In  this  unity  and  solidarity  there  was  large  compensa- 


PREPARATION  FOR  CHAPLAINCY  213 

tion  for  the  suffering  and  the  destitution  which  became 
more  and  more  acute  as  the  war  dragged  its  slow 
length  along. 

On  the  10th  of  Feb.,  1864,  I  was  licensed  by  Bishop 
Johns  "to  perform  the  service  and  deliver  addresses 
and  exhortations  as  authorized  by  Canon  III,  §  3, 
Title  I,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Con 
federate  States." 

Under  this  authority  I  did  service  in  the  hospitals 
and  elsewhere,  and  had  practice  in  extempore  speak 
ing,  which  was  a  useful  preparation  for  my  work  in 
the  army. 

I  find  the  following  list  of  some  of  the  text-books 
which  we  used  under  Dr.  Sparrow's  direction: 

Conant's  Gesenius  Hebrew  Grammar. 

Gesenius  Hebrew  Lexicon. 

Hebrew  Bible. 

Greek  Testament. 

Paley's  Evidences. 

Butler's  Analogy  and  Sermons. 

D'Aubigne's  History  of  the  Reformation. 

Mosheim's  Ecclesiastical  History. 

SchafFs  Church  History. 

I  had  the  use  of  the  excellent  library  of  the  Rev. 
Richard  H.  Phillips,  my  wife's  father,  and  the  great 
advantage  of  his  counsel  and  experience.  Dr.  Sparrow 
required  of  us  an  essay  on  some  topic,  assigned  by  him 
once  in  two  weeks,  and  later  we  began  the  composition 
of  sermons,  of  which  I  had  a  store  of,  I  think,  twelve, 
when  I  began  my  duties  as  chaplain.  This  was  a  very 
small  "barrel,"  but  it  was  of  little  consequence  because 
written  sermons  were  not  the  proper  "ammunition" 
for  use  in  the  army.  "The  paper"  was  found  to  be  a 


214  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

non-conductor,  and  words  straight  from  the  heart  were 
the  only  "arrows"  that  seemed  to  go  to  the  mark. 

I  may  here  set  down  an  anecdote  relating  to  Dr. 
Sparrow's  preaching.  After  a  sermon  by  him  in  Trin 
ity  Church,  Staunton,  three  gentlemen  stood  in  the 
church  yard  and  discussed  the  preacher.  One  of  them, 
I  think  Judge  Sheffey,  said,  "Well,  Dr.  Sparrow  can 
certainly  dive  down  deeper—  "Yes,"  interrupted 
Col.  John  Baldwin,  "and  stay  under  longer" 
"Yes,"  added  Bishop  Wilmer,  "and  come  up  drier!" 

Nevertheless,  all  thoughtful  men  found  him  an  in 
spiring  and  stimulating  preacher. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  my  ordination,  I  set  out  for 
the  army,  having  received  what  I  supposed  were  satis 
factory  assurances  that  I  would  be  appointed  chap 
lain  of  Major  Chew's  battalion  of  artillery,  which  was 
camped  at  that  time  near  Richmond. 

I  left  Staunton  May  30th,  mounted  on  a  beautiful 
little  blooded  bay  horse,  "Charlie,"  of  the  then  famous 
"Messenger"  stock.  He  had  previous  to  the  war 
belonged  to  my  wife,  but  had  joined  the  army,  like 
all  good  Virginians,  and  I  had  discovered  him  by 
accident,  and  had  persuaded  his  owner  to  trade  him 
for  my  "war-horse"  Roy,  a  showy  animal  of  "Mor 
gan"  stock.  He  agreed  to  the  exchange  on  condi 
tion  that  I  would  not  ride  him  hi  the  army,  but 
send  him  home  to  my  wife.  That  was  just  what  I 
wished  to  do,  as  I  had  so  often  heard  her  regret  that 
she  had  consented  to  part  with  him.  So  on  our 
return  from  Gettysburg,  I  found  a  soldier  who  had 
gone  barefooted  through  the  campaign,  and  obtain 
ing  a  furlough  for  him  to  visit  his  family  in  Augusta 
County,  sent  the  horse  by  him  to  Staunton.  Weeks 


PREPARATION  FOR  CHAPLAINCY  215 

passed  before  "Charlie"  was  delivered  in  Staunton, 
and  when  he  arrived  he  was  in  such  a  deplorable  con 
dition  that  none  of  the  family  recognized  him.  The 
soldier  had  taken  him  home  and  hitched  him  to  the 
plough,  and  so  overworked  and  misused  the  beautiful 
little  animal  that  he  was  unfit  for  use  for  many  months, 
and  when  at  length  he  was  partially  restored  to  condi 
tion  it  was  found  that  he  was  almost  totally  blind. 

This  unfitted  him  for  my  wife's  use,  but  I  thought  I 
could  manage  to  ride  him  in  the  army,  for  the  reason 
that  he  had  such  splendid  action  that  the  risk  of  stum 
bling  was  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

He  carried  me  well  to  the  army,  making  twenty-three 
miles  a  day  the  first  two  days,  and  thirty-three  miles 
a  day  the  third  and  fourth  day.  Unfortunately,  as 
my  diary  states,  he  "shied  into  the  canal,"  but  I  man 
aged  to  avoid  going  in  with  him.  I  have  no  recollec 
tion  of  how  I  got  him  out.  At  length  on  June  5th  I 
rode  into  the  camp  of  Major  Chew's  battalion  artillery. 
The  same  day,  in  the  evening,  I  held  service  "and  had 
a  large  and  attentive  audience  and  made  an  address 
suggested  by  the  hymn,  "A  charge  to  keep  I  have." 

I  was  now  happy  in  the  belief  that  I  had  achieved 
my  ambition,  —  I  was  commissioned  and  equipped 
for  my  work  as  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  army 
that  I  loved  so  well.  I  had  made  a  propitious  begin 
ning  of  my  service  as  chaplain,  and  could  now  go  for 
ward  and,  by  God's  blessing,  preach  and  live  the 
Gospel  to  good  purpose. 

But  I  was  to  be  disappointed.  I  learned  on  investi 
gation  that  formal  application  for  my  appointment  as 
chaplain  of  the  battalion  had  never  been  made,  and 
Major  Chew  informed  me  that  until  I  received  the 


216  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

appointment,  I  could  not  draw  rations  or  forage.  He 
proceeded  at  once  to  make  the  formal  application  to 
the  Department,  but,  pending  its  action,  I  had  no 
status  in  the  army,  and  was  obliged  with  great  chagrin 
to  leave  camp  and  await  my  commission  as  chaplain. 
More  than  a  month  elapsed  before  I  heard  from  the 
Department,  and  the  answer  was  that  Mr.  Seddon, 
Secretary  of  War,  decided  that  the  law  made  no  pro 
vision  for  the  appointment  of  chaplains  to  battalions, 
but  only  to  regiments,  and  therefore  the  application 
of  Major  Chew  could  not  be  granted. 

Col.  Thomas  Munford,  of  the  Second  Virginia  Cav 
alry,  Fitz  Lee's  brigade,  now  made  application  for  my 
appointment  as  chaplain  of  his  regiment,  but  it  was  not 
till  August  23d  that  I  finally  received  my  commission, 
and  was  qualified  to  join  Colonel  Munford's  command. 

During  the  interim,  however,  between  my  ordination 
and  my  entrance  on  my  duties  as  chaplain  I  was  not 
idle.  I  preached  frequently  in  Trinity  Church,  Staun- 
ton,  and  elsewhere.  For  example,  my  diary  notes 
that  on  August  4th,  August  5th,  August  6th,  August 
7th,  and  August  8th,  I  preached  at  the  Virginia  Hos 
pital,  Staunton,  to  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers. 
And  again,  at  Rawley  Springs,  I  preached  four  times  in 
one  week. 

At  this  time  it  was  my  habit  to  translate  daily  one 
chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  then  render 
ten  verses  back  from  English  into  Greek.1 

I  will  here  note  an  event  of  painful  interest  to  my 

1  It  may  be  amusing  to  note  the  following: 

"June  24,  1864— Hired  servant  girl  Milly  till  December  25th,  agree 
ing  to  furnish  her  one  linsey  dress,  one  cotton  dress,  one  pair  shoes, 
etc.,  etc.,  together  with  board  and  medical  attendance." 


PREPARATION  FOR  CHAPLAINCY  217 

immediate  family.  About  June  12th,  my  father-in- 
law,  Rev.  Richard  H.  Phillips,  for  so  many  years  the 
highly  esteemed  and  beloved  principal  of  the  Virginia 
Female  Institute,  was  captured  in  the  mountains  of 
Nelson  County,  Virginia,  and  carried  off  a  prisoner 
with  Hunter's  army  to  Ohio.  When  the  Institute 
closed  the  first  year  of  the  war,  Mr.  Phillips  had  de 
voted  himself  to  the  work  of  supplying  the  army  with 
cloth  made  in  local  mills,  and  had  been  commissioned 
captain  in  the  Commissary  Department.  Upon  the 
approach  of  Major-General  Hunter's  army  he  had 
packed  up  the  commissary  stores  in  wagons  and  sought 
safety  for  them  across  the  Blue  Ridge  in  Nelson  County. 
Here  he  was  captured,  together  with  all  the  stores  under 
his  charge.  I  suffered,  too,  a  loss  there,  for  he  had 
taken  my  uniform  which  I  had  worn  as  Steuart's  aide, 
"for  safe  keeping/'  and  this  was  carried  off  by  Hun 
ter's  raiders.  I  had  also  left  with  him  a  pair  of  saddle 
bags,  which  contained  about  half  of  my  little  store 
of  sermons, — a  precious  commodity  in  my  eyes.  My 
friend  Rev.  Dr.  Norton  suffered  a  similar  loss  by  the 
same  raiding  army  when  it  visited  Lexington.  Some 
years  after  the  war  he  attended  service  in  some  Western 
city,  and  heard  one  of  his  own  sermons  delivered  from 
the  pulpit  by  the  rector  of  the  parish.  It  must  have 
been  a  great  temptation  to  the  clergyman  who  had 
become  possessed  of  those  sermons  to  use  them,  for 
Dr.  Geo.  Norton  was  a  pungent  and  powerful  preacher. 
I  never  heard  that  my  sermons  received  a  similar  com 
pliment,  —  but  none  the  less  I  mourned  the  loss  of  a 
considerable  part  of  my  small  capital. 

Rev.  Mr.  Phillips  was  compelled  by  his  captors  to 
march  on  foot  all  the  long  way  from  Arrington  through 


218  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

Virginia  and  West  Virginia  to  the  Ohio  River.  It 
was  a  forced  march,  for  General  Hunter  was  hastening 
to  make  good  his  escape.  The  weather  was  very  hot 
and  oppressive,  and  the  fatigue  told  seriously  on  a  man 
of  Mr.  Phillips'  age.  He  was  obliged  to  subsist  much  of 
the  way  on  parched  corn,  and  was  at  one  time  so  fam 
ished  that  he  was  fain  to  pick  up  the  green  onion  tops 
thrown  away  by  the  Federal  soldiers.  He  was  kept  a 
prisoner  in  Camp  Chase  for  ten  months,  and  there 
endured  much  unnecessary  hardship,  gratuitously  in 
flicted  by  the  prison  authorities  in  retaliation  for  alleged 
cruelties  on  Northern  prisoners  of  war  in  the  South. 
When  he  was  exchanged  and  returned  home,  he  had 
aged  twenty  years  and  was  scarcely  recognized  by  his 
family. 

During  his  confinement  in  prison  Rev.  Mr.  Phillips 
did  very  effective  spiritual  work  among  his  fellow  pris 
oners  both  by  preaching  and  by  private  personal  influ 
ence.  He  was  able  to  state,  in  a  letter  written  about 
Christmas,  that  swearing  among  the  men  had  ceased 
entirely.  To  his  high  character  as  a  Christian  man,  he 
added  the  charm  of  culture  and  great  geniality. 

As  instances  of  the  rigorous  treatment  alluded  to 
above,  I  recall  his  telling  me  that  the  rations  issued  to  the 
prisoners  were  so  scant  that  he  had  repeatedly  known 
some  of  the  men  to  cook  three  days  rations  and  consume 
it  all  at  one  meal,  and  go  without  anything  the  rest  of 
the  three  days.  He  also  mentioned  that  spoiled  fish 
were  issued  to  the  prisoners  on  more  than  one  occasion. 

No  doubt  the  personality  of  the  particular  officer 
in  command  of  the  prisons,  both  North  and  South, 
was  often  the  determining  factor  in  the  treatment 
meted  out  to  the  prisoners. 


CHAPLAIN  IN  THE  FIELD  219 

FIRST   EXPERIENCE   AS   CHAPLAIN   IN   THE    FIELD 

It  was  on  August  30th,  1864,  that  I  left  Staunton  to 
report  for  duty  to  Col.  Thomas  T.  Munford,  as  chap 
lain  of  the  Second  Virginia  Cavalry,  then  camped  near 
Winchester.  My  beautiful  little  bay,  blind  though  he 
was,  carried  me  at  a  good  pace  down  the  valley,  25 
miles  the  first  day,  32  the  second,  35  the  third.  So  on 
September  2d  I  found  myself  at  last  installed  in  my 
new  duties,  so  eagerly  looked  forward  to. 

The  very  next  day  the  brigade  of  Gen.  Fitz  Lee  was 
ordered  out  to  meet  the  enemy.  I  mounted  my  horse, 
and  took  my  place  as  a  matter  of  course  in  the  column 
as  it  marched.  This  was  a  surprise  to  many  of  the 
men,  and  one  called  out  to  me,  "  Hello,  Parson,  are  you 
going  with  us  into  battle?"  "Oh,  yes,"  I  replied  with 
a  laugh,  "I'm  an  old  infantry  soldier,  —  I  don't  mind 
these  little  cavalry  skirmishes."  Then  rose  in  his 
stirrups  a  rough  trooper  from  the  backwoods,  and 
brandishing  his  sabre  over  his  head  exclaimed,  "That's 
right,  Paason.  You  stick  to  us,  and  we'll  stick  to  you!" 
I  recall  his  appearance  to  this  day;  he  had  long  yellow 
hair  almost  to  his  shoulders,  his  complexion  was  sallow, 
and  his  eyes  were  so  light  that  they  almost  looked 
white.  From  that  moment  he  was  my  fast  friend. 
Often  when  he  returned  from  picket  he  would  bring 
me  something  in  his  haversack,  a  peach,  or  a  pear,  or 
some  other  unusual  delicacy. 

It  was  a  fine  body  of  men,  that  Second  Virginia  Cav 
alry,  made  up  as  follows:  Co.  A  from  Bedford  County; 
Co.  B  from  Lynchburg;  Co.  C  from  Botetourt  County; 
Co.  D  from  Franklin  County;  Co.  E  from  Amherst 
County;  Co.  F  and  Co.  G  from  Bedford  County;  Co.  H 


220  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

fromAppomattox  County;  Co.  I  from  Campbell  County; 
Co.  K  from  Albemarle  County. 

I  found  among  the  officers  some  very  congenial 
spirits,  and  the  rank  and  file  were  always  ready  to 
respond  to  my  efforts.  Very  soon  our  relations  were 
established  on  a  cordial  basis.  Plenty  of  marching, 
plenty  of  common  hardships,  and  not  a  little  fight 
ing,  quickly  made  us  good  friends.  There  was  some 
fighting  that  first  day  of  our  acquaintance.  Somewhere 
on  the  field  of  expected  battle,  I  conducted  a  religious 
service  (" after  a  severe  struggle  with  my  diffidence") 
and  "  addressed  the  men  on  the  spur  of  the  moment 
on  God's  providence  and  the  necessity  of  depending 
on  Him."  It  was  on  Friday,  September  3d. 

My  diary  shows  that  I  established  the  rule  of  having 
prayers  in  the  regiment  daily,  both  morning  and  even 
ing,  and  that  I  generally  made  a  short  address.  This 
would  be  prevented  by  a  heavy  rain,  but  a  "  drizzling 
rain"  appears  to  have  been  no  obstacle.  "  Thro  wing 
up  breastworks"  would  hinder  the  service,  but  it  was 
held  even  on  days  when  the  regiment  was  on  the  march, 
—  of  course  after  making  camp  or  bivouack.  It  ap 
pears  also  that  the  attendance  was  "very  good."  I 
rose  regularly  about  five,  sometimes  half  an  hour  earlier, 
groomed  and  fed  my  horse,  and  was  early  ready  for  any 
duty.  If  the  regiment  went  on  picket,  prayers  would 
first  be  held,  unless  it  was  very  early.  I  believe  the 
morning  service  was  usually  before  breakfast  and  the 
evening  service  at  sunset,  though  sometimes,  especially 
on  Sunday,  it  would  be  after  dark,  for  I  well  remember 
once,  while  I  was  speaking,  the  fire  died  down  and  went 
out,  and  I  could  no  longer  see  the  faces  of  the  men, 
and  for  that  reason  my  address  came  to  a  speedy  end. 


GEN.  THOMAS  T.  MUNFOKD 


CHAPLAIN  IN  THE  FIELD  221 

I  was  fortunate  in  having  the  sympathy  and  active 
aid,  in  all  this,  of  our  colonel,  Tom  Munford,  a  gallant 
and  skilful  officer  (who  served  the  cause  with  unwaver 
ing  fidelity  to  the  last  day  and  the  last  shot  at  Appo- 
mattox),  and  also  of  his  adjutant,  Samuel  Griffin,  - 
"Tip,"  as  we  always  called  him. 

As  soon  as  practicable  after  joining  the  regiment, 
I  secured  lists  of  the  men  in  each  company  who  were 
communicants  of  any  church.  I  then  had  a  mass 
meeting  of  communicants,  and  sought  to  strengthen 
their  resolution  to  be  faithful  to  their  profession,  and 
steadfast  in  their  religious  duties,  and  active  in  Chris 
tian  work  among  their  comrades.  I  prepared  a  series 
of  resolutions  along  those  lines  and  they  were  adopted 
by  the  meeting.  My  next  effort  was  to  build  up  a 
choir  for  the  better  rendering  of  the  hymns  at  our 
services,  and  I  had  choir  meetings  when  possible. 

The  following  extracts  illustrate  our  life  at  this 
period : 

"Thursday,  Sept.  15th. — Morning  prayers  at  seven:  large 
attendance.  Preached  at  sunset  on  the  Fall  and  its  Conse 
quences.  Very  large  audience."  "Friday,  16th.  —  Evening 
service  at  sunset  and  address  on  Abraham's  Intercession 
for  Sodom  as  inciting  Christians  to  pray  for  the  country. 
Very  large  attendance.  Singing  improved."  "Sept.  17th, 
Saturday.  —  Held  meeting  of  Christians  at  nine  and  after 
prayer  and  deliberation  appointed  committee  to  report 
to-morrow  (Sunday)  at  three  o'clock.  As  chairman  I  was 
appointed  to  draft  resolutions.  .  .  .  Usual  large  attendance 
at  evening  prayer." 

And  this  extract  shows  how  willing  the  men  were 
to  attend  service  under  difficulties: 

"Sunday,    Sept.   18.  —  Ordered   off    at    daylight.     Held 


222  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

11  o'clock  service  and  preached  on  John  iii.  5  [apparently 
after  the  regiment  had  reached  its  destination].  Hughes, 
our  blacksmith,  came  to  me  for  advice  and  comfort.  Pre 
sented  claims  of  the  Episcopal  Church  at  some  length  to 
Cunningham  of  Co.  D,  who  has  never  joined  any  church, 
being  a  recent  convert.  Returned  to  old  camp  at  3.30  P.M. 
Preached  again  at  night  on  John  iii.  5.  Committee  approved 
my  resolutions." 

(Two  services,  two  sermons,  two  marches,  and  two 
conferences  in  one  day.) 

I  found  these  sturdy  men  very  ready  to  discuss  the 
great  question  of  religion,  and  open  to  conviction. 
Even  the  gayest  and  the  most  seemingly  thoughtless 
would  listen  with  deep  attention.  Danger  and  death 
were  at  their  right  hand  very  often,  and  this  gave 
emphasis  to  the  counsels  and  warnings  I  addressed 
to  them  both  in  public  and  private. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

EAELY'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864 

\\  71THIN  a  little  more  than  two  weeks  after  I 
joined  Colonel  Munford's  regiment,  the  army 
under  Major-General  Early  entered  upon  a  very 
active  campaign  in  the  valley  of  Virginia.  That  officer 
had  moved  into  Maryland  in  July  and  had  pushed  his 
advance  to  the  very  suburbs  of  Washington,  creating 
great  alarm  among  the  authorities  there.  It  was 
thought  at  the  time  by  many  that  a  commander 
with  more  dash  than  Early  —  Stonewall  Jackson,  for 
example  —  would  have  attempted  the  capture  of  the 
city,  and  with  much  probability  of  success.  But  it 
is  doubtful  if  General  Lee's  instructions  to  his  lieu 
tenant  contemplated  so  bold  an  enterprise  with  a  force 
no  larger  than  that  which  he  had  under  his  command. 
The  purpose  of  the  expedition  was  to  threaten  Wash 
ington  and  draw  off  troops  from  Lee's  front  for  its 
protection. 

Gen.  Phil  Sheridan  had  accordingly  been  sent  into 
the  valley  with  a  strong  and  well  equipped  army  to 
oppose  any  further  advance  by  Early.  These  able 
officers  were  thus  pitted  against  each  other,  but  the 
Federal  general  had  greatly  the  advantage  in  numbers 
and  in  the  armament  and  equipment  of  his  troops. 
His  cavalry,  for  instance,  was  armed  with  the  repeating 
Spenser  rifle,  while  the  Confederate  cavalry  had  only 

223 


224  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

the  Sharp's  rifle  at  best.  Often  during  this  campaign 
did  I  keenly  feel  the  inequality  of  the  conflict  between 
our  brave  fellows  and  their  antagonists  in  this  respect. 
It  was  hard  to  see  the  Bluecoats  firing  eight  rounds 
without  reloading,  while  the  boys  in  gray  could  fire 
but  one.  But  this  was  not  the  worst.  Some  of  Early's 
force  were  armed  with  only  the  long  cumbrous  sport 
ing  rifle  —  utterly  unsuited  for  mounted  men.  This 
circumstance  was  to  produce  disastrous  results  at  a 
critical  moment,  as  we  shall  see. 

Between  the  19th  of  September  and  the  18th  of  Octo 
ber  —  less  than  a  month  —  Munford's  regiment  partici 
pated  in  eleven  engagements,  three  of  which  were 
pitched  battles,  viz.,  Winchester,  Fisher's  Hill,  and 
Cedar  Creek. 

The  third  battle  of  Winchester  was  fought  on  Sept. 
19th,  1864.  Fitz  Lee's  cavalry  brigade  was  employed 
first  on  one  flank,  then  on  the  other,  and  did  some 
very  effective  work,  especially  in  covering  General 
Early's  retreat.  The  defeat  was  a  great  surprise  to 
us,  for  we  had  seen  the  enemy  driven  back  along  a 
great  part  of  the  line.  I  particularly  recall  a  brilliant 
charge  of  Rodes'  division,  which  seemed  at  the  time  to 
be  the  coup  de  grace.  Ordered  just  then  over  to  the 
right  flank,  we  were  astonished  later  to  learn  that  our 
left  had  given  way,  and  that  the  disorder  had  extended 
so  far  that  a  retreat  was  ordered.  This  was  about 
sunset,  the  battle  having  continued  all  day.  Seeking 
the  cause  of  this  sudden  change  in  the  aspect  of  affairs, 
I  learned  that  a  part  of  General  Imboden's  mounted 
command,  armed  with  those  long,  cumbrous,  muzzle- 
loading  rifles,  utterly  unfit  for  mounted  men,  had  given 
way  in  disorder  and  rushed  back  pell-mell  through  our 


EARLY'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN  OF   1864  225 

infantry  line,  which  was  thus  broken  and  thrown  into 
confusion,  not  by  the  enemy,  but  by  that  mass  of 
ill-armed  and  half -organized  men.  The  Federals, 
taking  advantage  of  this  breach  in  our  line,  charged 
vigorously,  and  so  our  almost  victory  was  turned  into 
defeat. 

It  was  now  that  Fitz  Lee's  cavalry  did  very  impor 
tant  service  in  checking  the  Federal  pursuit  and 
covering  Early 's  retreat.  On  the  left  flank  we  were 
dismounted  and  charged  on  foot,  "  driving  the  enemy's 
cavalry  in  confusion."  On  the  retreat  they  tried  to 
outflank  us  at  Hollingsworth's  Mills,  "but  our  brigade 
charged  beautifully  with  sabres  and  discomfited  them." 
At  one  time  during  the  day  our  men  were  in  breast 
works,  under  circumstances  which  I  do  not  now  dis 
tinctly  recall,  but  I  think  it  was  when  checkmating 
an  attempt  to  turn  our  right.  I  think  they  must 
have  been  light  intrenchments  thrown  up  in  haste, 
and  occupied  by  our  men  dismounted.  After  remain 
ing  there  some  time  with  our  men  under  the  enemy's 
shelling,  I  withdrew  to  the  place  where  the  led  horses 
were,  one  hundred  yards  in  the  rear,  and  there  min 
istered  as  best  I  could  to  one  of  our  poor  fellows,  who 
was  almost  cut  in  two  by  a  shell.  It  was  one  of  the 
most  awful  sights  I  ever  witnessed  during  the  war. 

This  was  the  first  time  the  Confederates  had  been 
defeated  at  Winchester.  Twice  previously,  in  1862 
and  in  1863,  victory  perched  on  their  banners  here. 
It  was  a  discouraging  blow,  especially  when  success 
had  seemed  in  their  grasp  till  the  unfortunate  occur 
rence  I  have  related  late  in  the  day.  After  a  very 
harassing  and  fatiguing  night  march,  we  reached 
Front  Royal  at  eight  A.M.  of  the  20th,  having  had  one 


226  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

hour's  sleep,  and  no  food  for  twenty-four  hours.  In 
the  battle  of  the  day  previous  I  had  discovered  that 
it  took  a  good  deal  more  nerve  to  go  through  a  fight  as 
a  non-combatant  than  as  a  soldier.  As  a  staff  officer 
in  battle  I  had  always  had  plenty  to  do  to  occupy  my 
mind,  and  very  little  time  to  reflect  on  the  danger  of 
the  situation.  As  a  chaplain  on  the  firing  line  with 
the  men,  I  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  sit  on  my  horse 
and  be  shot  at  (unarmed,  of  course),  waiting  for  a  call 
to  attend  some  wounded  man.  Having  passed  through 
both  experiences,  I  can  say  that  the  role  of  a  chaplain 
at  the  fiery  front  takes  more  nerve  "by  a  jugful" 
than  that  of  a  staff  officer.  Yet  I  am  certain  that 
the  chaplain  who  sticks  to  his  men  through  thick  and 
thin  will  have  tenfold  influence  over  them  for  that 
reason. 

In  this  connection  I  am  reminded  of  an  amusing 

occurrence.  One  of  our  chaplains,  Rev.  Dr.  L , 

who  had  fallen  heir  to  Gen.  Stonewall  Jackson's  sorrel 
mare,  was  riding  at  the  head  of  our  column  as  we 
marched  down  the  valley,  when  suddenly  we  ran  into 
the  enemy's  pickets,  and  the  rifles  began  to  crack  at 
a  very  lively  rate,  whereupon  the  aforesaid  chaplain 
turned  the  sorrel's  head  the  other  way,  and  began  to 
pace  rapidly  to  the  rear.  Just  then  General  Early 

appeared,  and  seeing  Dr.  L ,  he  called  out  in  that 

high-pitched  drawling  voice  which  was  peculiar  to 

him,  "Hello,  Parson  L ,  where  are  you  going? 

You've  been  praying  for  forty  years  to  get  to  heaven, 
and  right  down  this  road  there's  a  first-rate  chance 
to  go  there  quick,  and  you  won't  take  it!" 

After  an  interval  of  one  day  active  operations  were 
resumed.  September  21st,  at  Front  Royal,  our  cav- 


EARLY'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864  227 

airy  had  quite  a  severe  engagement  with  the  enemy. 
There  were  charges  and  countercharges  made  gal 
lantly  on  both  sides.  Several  of  our  men  were  killed 
and  a  number  wounded,  among  them  the  captain  of 
Co.  A  and  the  captain  of  Co.  K.  At  length  our  bri 
gade  retired  before  superior  force.  All  through  this 
campaign  it  was  most  aggravating  to  see  the  Federal 
troopers  using  their  repeating  carbines,  while  our 
brave  fellows  must  reload  after  each  shot,  —  eight 
shots  to  our  one  they  had.  The  same  day,  at  even 
tide,  five  miles  from  Front  Royal,  there  was  an  artil 
lery  duel,  in  which  the  gunners  of  our  brigade  "did 
beautiful  practice  —  blew  up  one  of  their  caissons, 
and  silenced  one  of  their  batteries." 

We  were  slowly  retreating  down  the  valley,  and  on 
the  22d  we  had  taken  up  a  position  at  Milford,  twelve 
miles  from  Luray.  The  enemy  attacked  us,  but  we 
held  him  off  all  day,  losing  some  of  our  men  in  the 
fight.  We  were  so  early  and  so  busily  engaged  that 
we  had  "  neither  breakfast  nor  dinner"  that  day. 
However,  we  had  a  "good  supper." 

This  was  another  dies  nefasta  for  our  little  army, 
for  General  Early  was  again  defeated  at  Fisher's  Hill. 

Once  more  I  suffered  a  great  personal  loss,  for  my 
dear  friend  Capt.  George  Williamson,  serving  on  Gen 
eral  Gordon's  staff,  was  killed  at  Fisher's  Hill,  while 
bravely,  but,  as  it  seems,  rashly,  exposing  himself  on 
the  picket  line. 

This  gallant  soldier  and  accomplished  gentleman 
was  the  son  of  Gen.  Geo.  W.  Williamson,  a  resident 
at  that  time  of  the  city  of  New  York,  where  his  other 
son,  David  B.  Williamson,  was  engaged  in  the  prac 
tice  of  law.  His  uncle,  Mr.  Chas.  A.  Williamson, 


228  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

was  a  resident  of  Baltimore.  There  were  few  young 
men  in  the  Southern  Army  possessed  of  such  talents 
and  such  personal  charm  as  George  Williamson.  He 
was  widely  read,  and  his  culture  was  refined  and  broad 
ened  by  travel  and  by  intercourse  with  the  world. 
Yet  he  was  unspoiled  and  " unspotted  by  the  world," 
—  a  man  of  inflexible  principle,  governed  in  all  his 
actions  by  a  high  sense  of  duty,  gracious,  courteous, 
knightly  in  bearing,  one  of  whom  it  could  be  truly 

said, 

"His  strength  was  as  the  strength  of  ten 

Because  his  heart  was  pure/' 

To  all  these  virtues  was  added  the  crown  of  a  Christian 
faith  and  a  Christian  life. 

I  have  just  been  reading  again  with  reverential 
emotion  a  letter  which  he  addressed  to  me  on  August 
1st,  seven  weeks  before  he  fell.  On  the  envelope  are 
written  these  words,  "To  be  opened  only  after  my 
death."  He  had  a  strong  presentiment  that  he  would 
not  survive  the  campaign.  In  the  intimacy  of  our 
circle  of  friends  he  would  say  that  officers  in  the  Con 
federate  Army  must  not  spare  themselves  —  they  must 
inspire  the  men  by  their  example  —  more  and  more 
this  was  demanded  of  them  now  that  the  struggle  was 
becoming  more  difficult  and  more  desperate,  —  it 
was  our  only  hope  of  success.  Noble  gentleman!  He 
lived  up  to  his  faith  and  died  a  victim  to  it. 

In  the  letter  he  entrusted  to  me  the  fulfilment  of 
his  last  wishes  and  the  administration  of  his  affairs. 
To  his  father  and  to  his  brother  he  sent  this  message, 
"Tell  them  I  endeavored  to  live  as  I  trust  I  shall  die, 
a  Christian  soldier  and  gentleman,  leaving  them  little 
cause  of  sorrow  in  my  death."  In  closing  he  said, 


EARLY'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864  229 

"Bury  me,  if  possible,  at  Duncan's  side,  if  my  death 
entitles  me  to  a  place  beside  the  brave  dead." 

I  was  proud  then  —  I  am  proud  to-day  —  that  this 
superb  man,  this  most  noble  and  gallant  gentleman, 
addressed  me  in  this  his  last  testament  as  "his  best 
and  dearest  friend."  I  could  have  no  higher  aim 
than  to  deserve  to  be  so  honored.  He  was  that  rare 
type  of  friend  who  would  dare  to  tell  the  truth,  however 
unwelcome  it  might  be.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  point 
out  my  faults  to  me  —  even  to  rebuke  me  if  he  saw  I 
was  in  the  wrong. 

September  23d,  the  day  after  the  battle  of  Fisher's 
Hill,  I  find  that  our  cavalry  was  still  holding  the  posi 
tion  at  Milford.  "The  enemy  have  retired  from  our 
front,  finding  it  impossible  to  drive  us  out."  On  the 
24th  we  returned  toward  Luray,  marching  through  New 
market  Gap.  Again  my  record  shows  that  the  active 
campaign  did  not  stop  our  usual  regimental  religious 
service,  for  though  we  were  engaged  that  day  in 
"throwing  up  breastworks"  at  Columbia  Bridge  ford, 
I  held  service  and  "addressed  the  men  on  the  Thirty- 
seventh  Psalm  in  connection  with  the  condition  of  our 
cause."  That  same  day  (Saturday)  Lomax's  old 
brigade  "suffered  a  reverse  near  Luray."  Our  own 
brigade  marched  across  the  river  by  nine  P.M.,  and  the 
marching  and  the  fortifying  and  the  service  was  all 
done  (and  endured)  on  an  empty  stomach  —  "nothing 
to  eat  all  day."  The  next  day,  Sunday,  25th,  we 
marched  to  Conrad's  store  in  Rockingham  County, 
but  again  I  find  record  of  religious  service,  —  "preached 
in  camp  in  the  afternoon  on  II  Peter  iii.  11  (The  Day 
of  Judgment)  and  had  more  than  usual  attention." 
This  was  followed  by  a  severe  night  march,  with  only 


230  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

an  hour's  sleep.  The  men  suffered  greatly  with  cold. 
"The  road  was  terrible."  Marching  and  camping 
with  officers  and  men,  and  going  with  them  into  battle, 
I  had  constant  opportunities  of  urging  upon  them  the 
claims  of  the  religion  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.  Many  were  the  long,  earnest  talks  we  had 
together.  I  found  the  minds  and  hearts  of  these 
brave  fellows  good  soil  for  the  word  of  God.  To 
some  I  administered  the  rite  of  baptism.  If  any  pre 
ferred  immersion,  I  was  ready  to  administer  the  sac 
rament  in  that  mode.  One  such  case  came  up  in 
midwinter,  and  all  things  were  ready  for  the  plunge 
into  the  bitter  cold  water,  when  orders  came  to  march, 
and  the  baptism  had  to  be  postponed.  Circumstances 
arose  which  made  the  postponement  indefinite.  I 
confess  it  was  no  small  relief,  for  our  wardrobes  were 
so  limited  that  I  fear  we  should  have  had  no  change 
of  clothing  after  the  ordeal  was  past.  It  was  easy  to 
appreciate  that  immersion  might  have  been  the  natural 
and  normal  method  of  baptism  in  the  River  Jordan, 
but  quite  the  reverse  in  the  Shenandoah  in  midwinter! 
During  these  weeks  of  hard  marching,  night  and  day, 
much  of  it  over  very  rough,  back  roads,  and  in  the 
various  fights  that  had  taken  place,  I  had  been  riding 
my  beautiful  little  bay  "  Charlie."  He  had  been 
blinded,  by  ill  usage,  as  I  have  explained,  but  his  action 
was  so  fine,  and  his  spirit  so  unconquered  by  adversity, 
that  his  blindness  was  not  noticeable  by  the  casual 
observer.  His  conduct  during  this  hard  campaign  en 
titles  him  to  be  enrolled  in  the  Legion  of  Honor  of  those 
brave  horses  who  have  borne  themselves  with  peculiar 
distinction  on  the  field  of  battle  and  on  the  toilsome 
march.  If  ever  a  blind  horse  went  through  a  campaign 


EARLY'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864  231 

more  gallantly  than  my  little  Charlie,  I  have  yet  to 
hear  his  name.  In  the  darkness  I  could  not  steer 
him  clear  of  the  rocks  and  other  obstacles  on  those 
awful  roads,  but  never  once  did  he  fall  with  me.  Some 
times  his  feet  would  slip  on  the  smooth  rocks,  but  when 
I  tightened  my  rein  and  sat  snug  in  the  saddle  he  would 
always  spring  up  on  to  his  feet  again,  even  if  he  had  to 
make  two  attempts.  Riding  across  the  rough  fields, 
he  made  the  same  record.  I  could  guide  him  to  a 
fence  partly  let  down  and  let  him  put  his  nose  over, 
and  if  it  were  not  more  than  two  feet  high,  he  would 
carry  me  over  without  difficulty. 

Two  achievements  of  his  in  particular,  I  think,  are 
worthy  of  mention.  Sheridan,  after  his  success  at 
Fisher's  Hill,  had  the  valley  almost  at  his  mercy,  - 
and  the  " tender  mercies"  of  General  Sheridan  were 
like  "the  tender  mercies  of  the  wicked,"  only  more 
so !  His  troopers  were  burning  and  destroying,  up  and 
down  that  fertile  region,  barns,  crops,  farming  imple 
ments,  everything  except  the  roofs  over  the  people's 
heads.  How  my  blood  boiled  as  I  saw  the  dense  clouds 
of  smoke  ascending  in  different  quarters  of  the  horizon! 
He  had  penetrated  to  Staunton.  Had  he  burned  the 
town?  Was  that  the  smoke  of  the  town  that  I  saw 
in  the  far  distance?  I  determined  to  ascertain.  So, 
September  27th,  obtaining  leave  of  absence  from  the 
colonel,  I  sallied  up  the  valley  to  see  what  the  situation 
was.  At  first  I  kept  to  the  back  road,  but  surveying  the 
pike  and  seeing  a  body  of  the  enemy  moving  down  the 
valley,  away  from  the  scene  of  destruction,  I  concluded 
to  venture  down  on  to  the  pike,  arguing  that  the  troops 
I  saw  were  probably  the  rear  of  the  column.  I  pro 
ceeded  accordingly  up  the  pike,  but  had  not  ridden 


232  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

much  more  than  half  a  mile  when,  at  a  sudden  turn  in 
the  road,  I  met  a  troop  of  Federals  coming  down. 
They  were  almost  upon  me  before  I  saw  them.  Rein 
ing  up  sharply,  I  wheeled  and  put  spurs  to  my  horse 
and  dashed  off  in  a  full  run,  pursued  by  the  Federals, 
who  fired,  as  they  rode  after  me,  many  shots.  It  was 
a  critical  moment  for  me.  I  was  confident  Charlie 
could  beat  them  running,  but  what  would  happen  when 
I  undertook  to  make  the  right  angle  turn  out  of  the 
pike  and  back  to  the  hill  road?  Could  the  dear  blind 
little  chap  make  the  turn  without  stumbling  and  fall 
ing,  going  at  that  speed?  Certainly  it  was  very 
doubtful.  But  I  slackened  speed  a  bit,  held  him 
well  up,  and  made  as  wide  a  turn  as  possible,  and 
the  gallant  beast  bore  me  safely  away  from  my  pur 
suers  on  to  the  back  road.  Fortunately  it  was  an 
up  grade.  Had  it  been  a  down  grade,  he  must  have 
fallen.  Being  unarmed,  as  I  always  was  since  becom 
ing  a  chaplain,  I  did  not  return  the  fire  of  my  friends 
in  blue. 

Some  weeks  after  this,  when  our  cavalry  had  again 
advanced  down  the  valley  nearly  to  Winchester,  the 
regiment  was  moving,  company  front,  across  a  field, 
when  suddenly  the  Federal  cavalry  appeared  directly 
in  our  rear,  and  were  evidently  preparing  to  charge. 
Whereupon  our  commanding  officer,  ordering  the  col 
umn  to  face  about,  so  that  the  rear  company  became 
the  front,  sounded  a  charge  against  the  enemy.  It 
was  executed  in  fine  form,  and  the  Federals  were 
driven  back.  In  the  charge  my  blind  little  hero  had 
become  very  much  excited,  and  continually  forged 
ahead  until  I  found  myself  neck  and  neck  with  one  of 
the  sergeants  at  the  very  head  of  the  rushing  regiment. 


EARLY'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864  233 

On  we  went  across  the  open  field,  over  rocks  and  fallen 
fences,  and  other  obstacles,  till  the  sergeant,  turning 
to  me,  expostulated  at  my  riding  a  blind  horse  in  that 
reckless  fashion.  Just  then  the  recall  sounded,  and  I 
pulled  Charlie  up  and  we  rode  quietly  back  to  the 
main  body.  Again  my  faithful  little  friend  had  justi 
fied  my  confidence. 

I  record  these  two  achievements  to  his  honor. 

On  September  27th,  the  day  of  my  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  reach  Staunton,  I  find  a  record  of  another 
fight,  and  among  the  wounded  was  Capt.  Basil  L.  Gilder- 
sleeve,  serving  on  the  staff  of  General  Gordon.  This 
accomplished  and  brilliant  scholar,  the  greatest  "  Gre 
cian"  of  his  day  in  America,  had  been  my  professor 
of  Greek  at  the  University  of  Virginia  in  1859-60. 
On  the  closing  of  the  University  he  had  entered  the 
service,  and  had  shown  that  he  could  emulate  the  cour 
age  of  the  heroes  of  Hellas  as  successfully  as  he  could 
expound  the  intricacies  of  their  beautiful  language. 
He  carries  to  this  day,  in  his  limping  gait,  the  witness 
of  his  gallantry  in  that  fight  forty-five  years  ago,  but, 
though  long  past  seventy  years  of  age,  his  intellect 
marches  as  erect  and  vigorous  as  ever.  His  career 
may  remind  us  that  the  cause  of  the  South  rallied  to 
its  support  men  of  every  rank  and  condition  in  life, 
the  student  and  the  scholar,  not  less  than  the  man  of 
affairs. 

Another  of  my  professors,  Lewis  Minor  Coleman, 
who  filled  with  great  distinction  the  chair  of  Latin, 
became  lieutenant-colonel  of  artillery  and  gave  up  his 
glorious  life  at  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg  in  1862, 
-  in  the  same  battle  in  which  one  of  his  most  bril 
liant  students,  Randolph  Fairfax,  fell,  leaving  behind 


234  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

him  a  shining  example  as  a  young  Christian  soldier. 
The  life  of  this  beautiful  and  accomplished  boy  (for 
he  was  not  of  age  when  he  was  killed)  was  written  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Philip  Slaughter,  and  was  circulated  widely 
in  the  army.  I  think  we  used  to  call  him  the  young 
"Hedley  Vickars." 

Then  the  next  day,  September  28th,  near  Waynes- 
boro,  there  was  a  pretty  hot  engagement,  artillery  and 
cavalry  participating.  About  half  past  four  P.M.  we 
"  attacked  the  enemy  and  after  a  sharp  fight  drove 
him  two  and  a  half  miles "  towards  Staunton.  I  was 
busy  after  nightfall  tending  the  wounded,  a  number 
of  whom  on  both  sides  had  sabre  cuts,  for  it  was  what 
cavalrymen  called  "a  very  pretty  fight,"  in  which  the 
columns  met  and  fought  hand  to  hand  with  the  sabre 
—  a  rather  rare  occurrence,  for  the  cavalry  were  being 
rapidly  transformed  into  mounted  infantry  and  used 
the  carbine  and  the  repeating  rifle  much  more  than  the 
sword.  The  following  morning,  29th,  I  had  the  rather 
unusual  experience  of  ministering  spiritually  to  one 
of  the  enemy.  This  is  the  record  I  find:  "Read  and 
prayed  with  Robert  B.  Fry,  of  Co.  F,  18th  Pennsyl 
vania  Cavalry."  I  think  I  also  wrote  a  letter  for  him 
to  his  father,  West  Fry,  at  Fayetteville,  Washington 
County,  Pennsylvania.  This  was  evidently  Robert 
Fry's  return  visit  to  us,  for  we  visited  his  home  on  the 
1st  of  July,  1863,  en  route  to  Gettysburg! 

I  now  had  a  week  with  my  family  very  happily  in 
Staunton,  but  found  the  household  much  troubled  over 
the  captivity  and  imprisonment  of  the  Rev.  R.  H. 
Phillips.  Here  I  replenished  my  supply  of  ammu 
nition,  —  Testaments,  prayer-books,  and  hymnals. 

Our  next  engagement  was  at  Cedar  Creek.     We 


EARLY'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN   OF   1864  235 

marched  October  13th  from  our  breastworks  at  Fisher's, 
eight  miles  down  the  back  road,  and  engaged  the  enemy. 

At  one  stage  of  the  fight,  a  squadron  of  the  regiment 
was  drawn  up  behind  a  little  slope,  mounted  and  ready 
to  charge  when  needed.  The  enemy  was  feeling  for 
us  with  his  artillery,  and  his  shells  were  dropping  un 
comfortably  near.  I  rode  to  the  front  of  the  squadron, 
drew  out  my  little  Psalm  book,  read  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Psalm,  and  offered  prayer  for  the  divine  bless 
ing  and  protection,  the  men  reverently  removing  their 
hats.  When  I  had  finished,  the  commanding  officer 
moved  the  squadron  about  twenty  or  thirty  yards  to 
a  spot  which  he  thought  less  exposed.  No  sooner  was 
the  movement  executed  than  a  shell  came  hurtling 
through  the  air,  struck  the  ground  and  exploded  on  the 
very  spot  we  had  just  left.  The  men  exchanged  glances 
at  this,  and  I  heard  one  of  the  roughest  of  the  troopers 
say  to  another,  "Bill,  I  say,  that  does  look  like  an 
answer  to  pra'ar,  doesn't  it?" 

Two  days  after  this  I  distributed  among  the  men 
150  hymnals,  50  prayer-books,  and  about  20  copies 
of  the  New  Testament.  We  had  our  usual  prayer- 
meeting  that  evening,  and  the  next  day,  Sunday, 
October  16th,  I  held  service  in  the  breastworks,  using 
the  Episcopal  liturgy  for  the  first  time  "with  encour 
aging  success,"  and  preaching  on  "the  Great  Alterna 
tive,"  I  Chron.  xxxiii.  9.  In  the  afternoon  held  another 
service,  and  preached  on  Phil,  iii,  "forgetting  the 
things  which  are  behind,"  etc.  That  night  the  regi 
ment  went  on  a  night  expedition  to  surprise  the  enemy. 
In  this  I  did  not  take  part,  my  horse  being  unfit  for  the 
march. 

Tuesday,   17th,  as  I  was  preparing  for  our  usual 


236  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

evening  service,  marching  orders  were  received.  We 
marched  all  night  and  attacked  the  enemy  at  daylight. 
I  find  almost  daily  in  this  active  campaign  mention 
of  earnest  conversations  with  officers  or  men  on  the 
great  theme  of  personal  religion,  and  I  have  no  mention 
or  recollection  of  meeting  with  a  rebuff.  The  next 
day,  October  19th,  was  an  eventful  one,  for  then  was 
fought  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  so  brilliant  in  its 
beginning,  so  disastrous  in  its  ending.  I  will  not 
attempt  to  tell  the  story  of  this  famous  engagement, 
but  I  will  remind  the  reader  of  Gen.  John  B.  Gordon's 
brilliant  strategy  —  how  during  the  night  of  the  18th 
he  carried  a  part  of  his  command  over  a  very  difficult 
mountain  pass  by  a  rough  foot-path,  and  fell  upon  the 
Federals  like  an  eagle  descending  out  of  the  clouds, 
surprising  them,  driving  them,  routing  them,  pursuing 
them  through  their  camps;  and  then  how  the  major- 
general  with  the  rest  of  the  little  army  came  upon  the 
scene  by  another  route,  and  in  an  evil  hour  stopped 
the  pursuit,  so  that  the  Federals  had  time  to  rally  and 
re-form.  By  this  time  the  Sixth  Corps1 — the  only 
one  which,  though  demoralized,  was  not  broken  — 
advanced  and  checked  the  retreat  of  the  fleeing  Fed 
erals;  and  then  the  Federal  commander  brought  his 
vastly  superior  numbers  into  play,  assumed  the  offen 
sive,  attacked  the  Confederates,  and  the  sun,  which  in 
rising  had  looked  down  on  a  glorious  Confederate 
victory,  beheld,  as  he  sank  to  rest,  that  victory  turned 
into  defeat.  It  was  one  of  those  bitter  experiences 

^ol.  Thos.  H.  Carter,  our  chief  of  artillery,  says:  "The  Sixth 
Corps  was  retiring  before  artillery  alone,  and  the  other  two  corps 
were  in  full  and  disorganized  flight  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning." 
See  Gen.  John  B.  Gordon's  account  of  this  battle  in  his  "Reminis 
cences,"  pp.  352-372. 


EARLY'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864  237 

which  began  now  to  be  not  uncommon,  as  the  South 
became  more  and  more  exhausted  and  the  superior 
numbers  and  resources  of  the  North  were  brought  into 
effective  operation. 

It  was  certainly  the  belief  of  the  rank  and  file  of  our 
little  army  that  if  that  glorious  soldier,  John  B.  Gordon, 
had  been  in  supreme  command  that  day,  there  would 
have  been  no  check  in  the  pursuit;  the  enemy  would 
not  have  been  given  time  to  rally  his  routed  forces; 
the  Sixth  Corps  would  have  been  swept  along  with  the 
rest  of  the  beaten  army,  and  the  magnificent  begin 
ning  would  have  been  crowned  by  a  complete  victory 
before  the  day  was  over.  Nothing  is  more  clear  than 
this,  —  it  was  not  Sheridan's  Ride,  but  Early 's  Halt, 
that  wrested  victory  from  the  Confederates  on  that 
eventful  day! 

I  have  two  closing  notes  on  this  day.  Our  regi 
mental  evening  service  was  held  in  face  of  the  enemy's 
pickets,  and  then  we  had  another  all  night  march 
back  to  our  breastworks,  only  to  be  again  in  the  saddle 
next  morning  (the  20th)  for  a  march  all  day.  Friday, 
21st,  the  regiment  marched  again  and  camped  near 
Forestville,  where,  at  nightfall,  we  had  our  prayer- 
meeting  and  I  spoke  on  the  last  three  verses  of  Heb.  iv. 
Saturday  evening's  address  was  on  the  words,  "Will 
a  man  rob  God?  Yet  ye  have  robbed  Me."  Sunday 
the  regiment  was  ordered  on  picket.  Nevertheless 
we  had  our  service  at  brigade  headquarters,  and  late 
in  the  day  I  joined  my  regiment  on  the  picket  line, 
after  I  had  rebuked  the  sutlers  for  selling  their  mer 
chandise  on  the  Lord's  Day  and  had  written  a  letter 
to  Colonel  Morgan  remonstrating  with  him  very  ear 
nestly  on  the  impropriety  of  establishing  his  head- 


238  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

quarters  in  a  church.  Monday  we  returned  to  camp 
and  had  our  service  in  the  evening  at  brigade  head 
quarters;  Tuesday  the  same  in  the  first  squadron,  with 
an  address  on  "The  Brazen  Serpent." 

Soon  after  this,  on  October  26th,  I  organized  a  branch 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  the  regi 
ment,  and  I  find  a  record  of  its  meetings  from  time  to 
time  through  that  stirring  fall  and  winter,  in  spite  of 
our  constant  marches.  It  met  the  second  time  on 
the  following  Sunday  evening.  At  the  University  of 
Virginia  I  had  taken  active  part  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
which,  by  the  way,  was  the  first  such  Association 
organized  at  any  institution  of  learning.  That  was  in 
1858. 

We  kept  up  our  choir  meetings  also,  and  this  con 
tributed  to  the  interest  in  the  daily  services.  I  have 
mentioned  that  my  father-in-law,  Rev.  Richard  H. 
Phillips,  was  a  prisoner  in  Camp  Chase,  Ohio.  His 
family  was  greatly  distressed  by  his  captivity,  and 
feared  the  consequences  of  the  hardship  and  the  unnec 
essary  rigor  to  which  he  was  subjected.  This  induced 
me  to  think  of  offering  myself  as  a  substitute  for  him, 
to  procure  his  release  and  restoration  to  his  family. 
Accordingly,  on  October  31st  I  addressed  a  letter  to 
Colonel  Ould,  the  Confederate  commissioner  for  ex 
change  of  prisoners,  asking  him  to  propose  to  the  Fed 
eral  authorities  to  accept  me  as  a  prisoner  in  place  of 
Mr.  Phillips.  On  the  9th  of  November  I  wrote  to  two 
members  of  the  Confederate  Congress,  Col.  John  B. 
Baldwin  and  Hon.  Allan  T.  Caperton,  on  the  same 
subject,  but  nothing  ever  came  of  it.  Mr.  Phillips  was 
a  prisoner  for  ten  months,  when  he  was  exchanged 
in  the  ordinary  course. 


EARLY'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864  239 

It  was  a  hard  campaign  for  us,  marked  by  almost 
daily  marches,  and  by  frequent  fights  more  or  less 
important.  Thus,  on  November  llth,  we  marched 
below  Cedar  Creek  and  had  an  engagement  in  which 
we  lost  two  killed  and  five  wounded.  Again  the  next 
day  there  was  "  cavalry  fighting  all  day.7'  My  record 
says  that  General  Rosser's  (Confederate)  brigade 
was  " stampeded,"  but  "our  regiment  charged  beauti 
fully  and  drove  the  enemy  six  miles."  General  Lomax 
"  whipped  them  too,"  but  McCausland  lost  two  pieces 
of  artillery.  So  it  would  seem  that  honors  were  easy 
that  day  between  the  blue  and  the  gray.  The  follow 
ing  Sunday  we  marched  back  to  camp,  twenty-five 
miles,  the  weather  very  cold,  "  snowing  and  blowing." 
Winter  had  set  in  early,  for  I  noted  a  heavy  snow  on 
November  5th. 

One  of  my  efforts  was  to  supply  all  the  men  who 
wished  it  with  copies  of  the  New  Testament.  To 
this  end  I  appointed  one  in  each  company  to  ascer 
tain  how  many  were  desirous  of  being  supplied  with 
them.  I  also  circulated  a  subscription  for  the  supply 
of  "religious  papers,"  and  I  note  November  14th  the 
receipt  of  $106  from  Co.  A  for  this  purpose. 

Apparently  to  supply  these  needs  I  made  a  visit 
to  Staunton,  November  15th,  "riding  all  night  and 
reaching  there  at  nine  A.M." 

After  a  three  days  visit  there,  during  which  my 
gallant  little  "Charlie"  had  the  honor  of  carrying  his 
mistress  again  after  an  interval  of  three  years,  I  returned 
to  camp  on  the  19th  of  November,  riding  from  Staun 
ton  to  Newmarket  between  6.30  A.M.  and  dusk.  Two 
days  afterward  I  distributed  my  cargo,  70  Testaments, 
40  hymnals,  and  about  100  prayer-books.  Next  day, 


240  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

21st,  the  enemy  advanced  with  three  divisions  of  cav 
alry.  "We  met  them  with  one  brigade  and  some 
infantry  skirmishers  and  drove  them  beyond  Edin 
burgh,  a  distance  of  six  miles/'  losing  in  our  regiment 
three  killed  and  eight  wounded,  to  whom  I  endeavored 
to  minister  the  consolations  of  religion. 

I  will  give  here  a  transcript  of  my  little  diary  to  show 
how  my  days  were  spent. 

"Nov.  22d.  Talked  with  Jones  of  Co.  G,  who  was  danger 
ously  wounded  to-day.  Nov.  23d.  Went  to  see  Jones  at 
sunrise.  Read  and  prayed  with  him  with  much  earnestness 
in  presence  of  his  family  and  some  soldiers.  .  .  .  Visited 
two  badly  wounded  men  of  the  First  Regiment,  talked  and 
prayed  with  them.  Went  to  Mt.  Jackson  hospital,  and 
talked  with  Brooking  and  McGinness,  each  of  whom  has 
lost  a  leg.  On  the  way  back  conversed  with  Sergeant 
Cleburne,  who  was  once  a  professor  of  religion.  Held  prayer- 
meeting  and  spoke  on  103d  Psalm.  Small  attendance 
because  of  the  cold.  .  .  .  Thursday,  24th.  Rose  at  daylight 
and  went  to  see  Jones.  Talked  and  prayed  with  him. 
Performed  the  burial  service  over  W.  H.  Cocke  of  Co.  G, 
and  addressed  the  throng  on  death  and  its  lessons.  Went 
to  see  Harris,  Co.  A.  He  is  a  Christian.  Read  and  prayed 
with  him  with  much  delight.  Drew  near  to  God  in  evening 
prayer.  Held  prayer-meeting  and  spoke  on  "The  Sting 
of  Death  is  Sin."  Friday,  Nov.  25th.  "Rose  at  daylight— 
weather  very  cold — withdrew  to  the  woods  for  prayer.  .  .  . 
Visited  Jones  and  talked  and  prayed  with  him.  He  cannot 
believe  —  that  is  his  difficulty.  Regiment  on  picket.  Rode 
five  miles  to  see  B.  W.  Taylor  and  found  him  somewhat 
better.  .  .  .  Nov.  26th.  Rose  before  daylight  and  prayed 
with  Taylor.  Rode  to  picket  post,  stopping  to  see  Jones 
on  my  way.  Sunday,  Nov.  27th.  Distributed  papers  to 
men  at  sunrise,  and  gave  notice  of  services.  Rode  to  Dr. 


EARLY'S  VALLEY  CAMPAIGN  OF   1864  241 

Meem's  and  returned  with  Dr.  Mitchell  (Presbyterian),  of 
Lynchburg,  who  preached  for  me  on  the  joy  in  heaven  'over 
one  sinner  that  repenteth.'  Rode  with  him  to  see  Jones." 

On  another  day  I  was  occupied  "  cutting  down  two 
trees,"  visiting  the  hospital  at  Mt.  Jackson,  where 
I  ministered  to  seven  wounded  men,  and  in  the  evening 
(December  6th)  "had  the  largest  and  best  attended 
prayer -meeting  for  a  long  time.  A  trooper  knelt  in 
token  of  his  desire  for  the  prayers  of  the  congregation." 

Our  troopers  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  corn  from 
the  fields  for  then-  horses.  This  was  a  very  reprehen 
sible  practice,  and  I  took  occasion  to  remonstrate  with 
the  men  against  it.  I  urged  that  it  was  the  duty  of 
the  quartermaster's  department  to  supply  food  and 
forage  for  our  animals,  and  that  it  was  subversive  of 
discipline  for  the  men  to  get  their  own  supplies.  But, 
above  all,  I  insisted  that  the  unhappy  valley  of  Virginia 
had  been  swept  almost  bare  of  subsistence  by  the 
marching  and  countermarching  of  the  two  armies, 
and  that  of  late  the  Federal  cavalry  had  been  robbing 
the  people  mercilessly,  so  that  if  we  took  the  corn  and 
fodder  that  were  left,  we  were  in  fact  taking  the  bread 
out  of  the  mouths  of  the  women  and  children.  To 
all  my  arguments  some  of  the  men  opposed  the  abso 
lute  necessity  they  were  in  to  keep  their  horses  in  con 
dition  to  do  service  and  to  defend  the  country  from 
the  advance  of  the  enemy.  This  I  met  by  the  argu- 
mentum  ad  equum.  " Look  at  my  horse,"  I  said.  "He 
is  in  as  good  condition  as  any  horse  in  the  regiment,  and 
I  have  not  taken  an  ear  of  corn  for  him  since  I  have  been 
in  the  command!"  When  I  said  this  I  saw  a  twinkle 
in  the  eye  of  my  principal  antagonist  in  the  argument, 
as  he  replied,  "That's  all  very  well,  Parson,  but  you 


242  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

don't  see  the  men  a  feedin'  of  him  while  you  are 
asleep!"  On  one  occasion  there  was  more  serious 
ground  for  rebuke,  for  some  depredations  had  been 
committed  which  reflected  on  the  good  name  of  the 
regiment.  When  I  heard  of  it,  I  had  the  church  bugle 
call  sounded,  and  the  men  assembled  in  considerable 
numbers.  After  a  very  brief  religious  service,  I  ad 
dressed  them,  rebuking  severely  the  act  alluded  to, 
calling  it  by  its  right  name,  and  unsparingly  condemn 
ing  the  perpetrators  whoever  they  might  be.  It  was 
evident  from  the  scowling  countenances  of  two  or  three 
of  my  auditors  that  the  shot  had  taken  effect  —  the 
guilty  parties  had  been  hit.  It  was  the  only  instance 
of  such  conduct  that  I  remember  during  my  connection 
of  nearly  eight  months  with  the  Second  Cavalry. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE   WINTER   CAMPAIGN   OF    1864-65 

WE  were  now  to  undertake  an  expedition  into  West 
Virginia,  under  command  of  General  Rosser,  a 
dashing  and  adventurous  officer,  but  in  my  humble 
opinion  lacking  sometimes  in  that  poise  and  judgment 
so  essential  to  the  best  results  in  a  campaign. 

We  set  out  on  Dec.  7th,  1864,  and  the  next  day 
crossed  the  mountains  and  camped  in  a  little  valley  on 
the  south  fork  of  the  Potomac.  On  the  9th  we  reached 
Petersburg.  Later  we  tore  up  some  miles  of  the  Balti 
more  and  Ohio  R.  R. 

This  appears  to  have  been  the  whole  purpose  of  the 
expedition.  It  was  accomplished  at  considerable  cost 
-  indeed,  it  cost  very  dear,  for  to  say  nothing  of  the 
intense  suffering  the  men  endured  in  crossing  and 
recrossing  the  Alleghany  in  the  midst  of  a  very  cold 
winter,  horses  and  men  were  much  broken  down  by  the 
marches,  and  the  brigade  subsequently  joined  the  army 
near  Richmond  "much  the  worse  for  wear,"  and  by 
no  means  as  fit  for  service  as  it  had  been  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  winter.  One  evening  we  reached  the  top 
of  the  Allegheny  Mountains  just  before  dusk,  and 
bivouacked  in  the  forest.  We  had  no  wagons,  and  of 
course  no  tents  —  nothing,  in  fact,  but  what  each 
trooper  carried  on  his  saddle.  Every  man  was  supposed 
to  have  a  small  tent-fly  rolled  up  behind  him.  These 

243 


244  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

were  about  six  feet  long  and  perhaps  eighteen  inches 
across,  —  two  of  them  buttoned  together  and  stretched 
across  a  small  pole  cut  from  the  forest  and  supported 
by  two  forked  sticks  formed  a  little  shelter  under  which 
two  men  could  crawl  and  have  some  protection  from 
falling  weather. 

Just  at  dusk  snow  began  to  fall,  and  it  was  evi 
dently  to  be  a  heavy  one.  Quickly  then  these  tiny 
shelter  tents  began  to  spring  up  in  the  forest.  But 
unfortunately  for  us,  neither  Adjutant  Griffin  nor  I 
possessed  a  tent-fly.  So  we  had  no  resource  but  to 
lie  down  and  cover  up  with  what  blankets  we  had  and 
a  rubber  overall  —  this  as  quickly  as  possible  before  the 
ground  had  become  covered  with  the  snow.  This, 
then,  we  did,  while  our  comrades,  standing  by  the  little 
feeble  fires  of  brushwood,  bade  us  good-bye,  saying, 
"We  expect  to  find  you  buried  alive  in  the  morning." 
This  expectation  was  literally  realized,  for  "Tip" 
Griffin  and  I  were  covered  up  by  a  blanket  of  snow 
eight  inches  deep,  —  buried,  but  still  alive.  Tip, 
though,  had  the  advantage  of  me,  for  he  slept  soundly 
with  his  head  completely  covered,  while  I,  requiring 
fresh  air,  was  compelled  from  time  to  time  to  lift  the 
cover,  whereupon  the  snow  would  roll  in  (our  saddles 
making  a  little  mound  behind  our  heads),  and  then 
the  heat  of  my  body  would  melt  it,  —  so  that  I  had  a 
most  miserable  night,  not  because  of  the  cold,  for  the 
snow  kept  me  warm,  but  by  loss  of  sleep  and  the  dis 
comfort  of  lying  in  a  pool  of  melted  snow  —  "almost 
suffocated  with  the  weight  of  the  snow  on  my  head." 
Another  severe  experience  I  recall  was  this.  We  crossed 
one  of  the  mountain  brooks  not  less,  I  think,  than  twenty 
times  in  a  day's  march,  and  the  weather  was  so  cold 


WINTER  CAMPAIGN  OF   1864-65  245 

that  the  water  as  it  splashed  upon  the  horses  froze, 
and  their  legs  and  bellies  were  covered  with  little  icicles. 
But  the  forepart  of  the  top  of  one  of  my  boots  was  gone, 
so  that  my  sock  was  exposed,  and  it  soon  became  a 
frozen  mass  over  my  foot,  so  that  I  was  obliged  to  dis 
mount  and  walk  all  day  (sometimes  to  double-quick)  to 
prevent  my  foot  being  frozen  or  frost-bitten.  More 
over  I  was  miserably  mounted  —  on  a  little  long-haired 
mouse-colored  beast,  not  much  larger  than  a  large 
sheep.  I  had  not  ventured  to  take  my  blind  Charlie 
on  this  winter  expedition  over  frozen  roads.  Often 
these  were  very  slippery. 

When  Sunday  came,  it  was  simply  impossible  to 
conduct  service.  I  rode  thirteen  miles  that  day  to  pro 
cure  forage  for  our  horses.  On  the  12th  I  rode  on  to 
Petersburg  (W.  Va.),  and  had  bread  baked  for  the  men. 
This  threw  me  behind  the  column  and  I  had  hard 
work  catching  up  with  the  regiment. 

During  all  this  march  back  over  the  mountains 
and  to  Eastern  Virginia,  our  men  had  to  scratch  a 
fresh  hole  in  the  hard  snow,  at  the  end  of  every  day's 
march,  to  bivouack  for  the  night. 

My  verdict  was  that  I  had  suffered  more  hardship 
in  the  office  of  chaplain  than  I  ever  did  as  a  private 
soldier  carrying  a  musket  and  a  knapsack. 

On  December  17th  I  was  ordered  to  the  hospital 
at  Staunton  for  treatment  of  an  injury  to  my  hand. 

I  returned  to  camp  at  Swope's  Depot  early  in  Janu 
ary,  and  at  once  resumed  the  daily  services.  On  the 
8th  we  received  orders  to  march  eastward  to  Waynes- 
boro  and  thence  over  the  Blue  Ridge.  Taking  Staun 
ton  en  route,  I  consulted  a  surgeon  there,  who  said  it 
would  be  dangerous  to  return  to  camp  in  the  condition 


246  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

my  hand  was  in.  It  was  much  swollen  and  very  pain 
ful.  It  seemed  strange  to  be  put  hors  de  combat  for 
weeks  by  a  trifling  injury,  after  passing  through  so 
many  battles  and  minor  engagements  scathless.  I 
had  once  lost  a  day  by  indisposition  —  the  only  occa 
sion  during  the  war  when  I  had  to  ride  in  the  ambu 
lance — and  now  I  had  lost  three  weeks  and  was  to  lose 
more  by  this  accident. 

On  January  20th,  while  still  in  Staunton,  I  received 
news  of  the  death  of  my  dear  father,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  sixty-five  years,  at  his  beautiful  home,  Belvi- 
dere,  in  Baltimore. 

It  was  not  till  January  25th  that  I  was  able 
to  rejoin  my  regiment.  Starting  early  I  rode  across 
the  Blue  Ridge  and  made  " Clover  Plains"  by  evening 
-the  lovely  home  of  my  aunt,  Mrs.  John  Boiling 
Garrett,  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  mountains.  Next 
day  I  dined  at  the  dear  old  University  from  whose 
classic  shades  so  many  of  us  went  forth  in  1861  to  join 
the  Confederate  armies;  and  pushed  on  in  the  after 
noon  to  "Edge  Hill,"  the  home  of  Col.  Thos.  Jefferson 
Randolph,  grandson  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  beautifully 
situated  on  a  hill  almost  under  the  shadow  of  famous 
"Monticello." 

How  well  I  recall  the  giant  form  of  Colonel  Ran 
dolph,  as  he  sat  and  talked  of  the  olden  days  of 
Virginia,  of  his  illustrious  grandfather,  and  of  the 
Legislature  of  Virginia  in  1832,  when  the  whole  State 
was  so  deeply  stirred  by  the  scheme  for  the  emanci 
pation  of  the  negroes.  He  was  a  member  of  that  body, 
and  he  told  me  that  a  large  majority  of  the  members 
was  in  favor  of  the  measure;  but  after  careful  con 
sideration  it  was  deemed  wiser  to  postpone  action  upon 


WINTER  CAMPAIGN  OF   1864-65 

it  until  the  next  session,  in  order  that  the  details  of 
the  scheme  might  be  more  maturely  considered. 

But  before  the  Legislature  reassembled,  there 
occurred  a  violent  ebulition  of  fanaticism  on  the  part 
of  the  Abolitionists  of  New  England.  The  Southern 
slave-holders  were  held  up  to  the  scorn  and  detestation 
of  mankind,  and  the  vengeance  of  God  and  man  was 
invoked  against  them  for  the  awful  crime  of  slavery. 

The  consequence  was  a  complete  reaction  of  public 
opinion  in  Virginia  on  the  subject  of  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  so  that  when  the  Legislature  next  assembled, 
the  whole  project  was  dropped.  Thus  was  wrecked 
the  most  hopeful  scheme  of  getting  rid  of  the  institu 
tion  of  slavery  that  had  ever  been  proposed  since  its 
introduction  in  1619.  We  may  lament  that  the  men  of 
Virginia  did  not  rise  superior  to  the  feelings  naturally 
begotten  by  this  unfair  and  fanatical  assault,  but, 
human  nature  being  what  it  is,  we  cannot  be  surprised 
that  the  affair  terminated  as  it  did. 

Had  it  been  otherwise  —  had  the  gradual  emancipa 
tion  of  the  slaves  been  decreed  by  Virginia  —  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  Maryland,  Kentucky,  Mis 
souri,  North  Carolina,  and  Tennessee  would  have  fol 
lowed  her  example;  and  in  time  the  moral  pressure 
on  the  cotton  States  would  have  been  so  strong  that 
they,  too,  must  have  adopted  some  scheme  of  emanci 
pation.  That  this  blessed  consummation  was  not  j 
realized  must  be  set  down  to  the  account  of  the  fanat 
ical  Abolitionists,  because  of  their  violent  and  unjust 
arraignment  of  the  South  for  an  institution  which  she 
did  not  create,  but  had  inherited,  and  against  which 
the  State  of  Virginia  had  many  times  protested  in  her 
early  history. 


248  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

It  is  not  always  remembered  by  students  of  American 
history  that  the  original  draft  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  as  drawn  by  Thos.  Jefferson  arraigned 
the  king  of  England  for  forcing  the  institution  of  slavery 
on  the  people  of  the  colonies  against  their  will.  It 
is  also  too  often  forgotten  that  the  first  government 
on  earth  to  abolish  the  slave  trade  was  the  Common 
wealth  of  Virginia.  It  was  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the 
Old  Dominion  after  her  independence  had  been  estab 
lished,  long  before  old  England  passed  her  ordinance 
against  it.  And  when  the  thirteen  colonies  formed  the 
United  States,  in  1789,  the  voice  of  Virginia  was  raised 
in  earnest  advocacy  of  the  immediate  abolition  of  the 
trade  in  negro  slaves,  but  owing  to  the  opposition  of 
New  England,  in  alliance  with  some  of  the  cotton 
States,  the  evil  traffic  was  given  a  twenty  years  further 
lease  of  life. 

From  Edge  Hill,  after  one  delightful  evening,  I 
rode  on  to  Barboursville,  January  26th,  suffering  not 
a  little  with  the  cold,  for  the  thermometer  registered 
fourteen  degrees  above  zero.  There  I  spent  the  night 
with  another  charming  Virginia  gentleman,  a  member 
of  the  Confederate  Congress,  Mr.  B.  Johnson  Barbour. 
He  was  of  a  younger  generation  than  Colonel  Randolph, 
and  an  active  participant  in  the  affairs  of  the  State 
and  the  Confederacy,  experienced  in  political  life,  a 
man  of  broad  and  generous  culture,  and  an  orator  of 
great  ability.  In  such  delightful  company  and  in 
such  a  charming  home  it  would  have  been  delightful 
to  tarry,  but  I  could  not  yield  to  the  temptation,  and 
so  pushed  on  the  next  day,  reaching  camp  about  one 
P.M.  On  Sunday,  the  28th,  I  resumed  my  duties -with 
my  regiment,  preaching  in  the  Blue  Run  Baptist 


WINTER  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864-65  249 

Church,  the  condition  of  which  left  much  to  be  desired. 
So,  next  day  I  spent  several  hours  "  cleaning  out  the 
church."  My  diary  shows  that  our  daily  prayer- 
meetings  were  kept  up  through  the  remainder  of  this 
hard  winter  and  up  to  the  evacuation  of  Richmond, 
whenever  circumstances  permitted,  and  I  always 
made  an  address  or  preached  a  sermon.  It  is  pleasant 
to  remember  now,  after  the  lapse  of  forty-four  years, 
the  loyal  support  those  brave  men  of  the  Second  Vir 
ginia  Cavalry  gave  me,  young  and  inexperienced  as  I 
was,  in  my  work  as  chaplain  among  them. 

They  gave  liberally,  too,  out  of  their  small  means  for 
the  soldiers'  paper  which  I  was  interested  in  circulating 
among  the  men,  and  for  the  purchase  of  Bibles  and 
prayer-books  and  hymnals. 

On  Sunday,  February  5th,  my  morning  service  was 
appointed  as  usual,  but  orders  were  received  to  march 
to  Richmond,  so  that  my  congregation  was  reduced 
to  four  men,  —  to  whom,  however,  I  preached.  Our 
camp  was  on  the  nine-mile  road,  six  miles  from  Rich 
mond.  The  next  Sunday  (12th)  was  very  windy  and 
cold,  so  that  only  fifteen  men  responded  to  bugle  call 
at  church  time.  Open  air  service  in  such  bitter  weather 
had  its  difficulties.  But  I  find  record  of  many  personal 
interviews  with  officers  and  men  at  this  period  about 
their  souls7  interests.  On  the  19th  I  preached  both 
morning  and  afternoon  in  St.  Paul's,  Richmond,  of  which 
Rev.  Dr.  Minnegerode  was  the  rector.  The  President 
of  the  Southern  Confederacy  was  a  regular  attendant 
at  its  services,  as  were  many  other  government  officials. 
It  was  a  very  notable  congregation  that  assembled  there 
those  last  Sundays  of  the  life  of  the  Confederacy.  Many 
distinguished  officers  w^ould  often  be  seen  there,  and 


250  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

always  many  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  costumes  of  the 
ladies,  made  up  with  such  ingenuity  out  of  very  slender 
resources,  would  have  furnished  a  curious  study  to  the 
woman  of  to-day  versed  in  matters  pertaining  to  female 
toilette.  There  was  a  deep  solemnity  in  those  Sunday 
services  in  the  chief  church  of  Virginia,  when  such 
momentous  issues  hung  in  the  balance,  when  often 
the  distant  booming  of  the  cannon  reminded  the  wor 
shippers  that  a  life  and  death  struggle  was  even  then 
going  on.  Not  a  few  of  those  who  sat  listening  to  the 
words  of  the  preacher  felt  that  a  dark  cloud  of  impend 
ing  disaster  overhung  the  church  and  the  city,  which 
might  burst  at  any  hour  and  overwhelm  us  all.  But 
others,  especially  the  young  officers  and  the  young 
women,  were  full  of  hope,  and  even  the  sacred  precincts 
of  the  sanctuary  could  hardly  restrain  the  ebullition  of 
their  gayety.  It  was,  on  the  whole,  a  brilliant  spectacle 
presented  to  the  eye  of  the  preacher  as  he  ascended 
the  pulpit  of  St.  Paul's  and  surveyed  the  great  congre 
gation  before  him.  To  one  as  new  as  I  then  was  to 
the  pulpit,  and  accustomed  to  audiences  composed 
solely  of  my  comrades  in  arms,  clad  in  their  rusty  uni 
forms,  it  was  at  first  a  little  disconcerting. 

Having  found  it  so  difficult  to  conduct  service  in  the 
open  air  in  the  cold  and  inclement  weather  of  winter,  I 
set  about  building,  by  the  help  of  the  men,  a  chapel  for 
our  use  in  winter  quarters.  We  built  it  of  logs  and  cov 
ered  it  with  tent-flies.  In  about  two  weeks  we  were  able 
to  occupy  it,  but  two  days  later  the  brigade  was  ordered 
off  (March  7th),  and  I  believe  we  never  used  it  again. 
I  had  much  personal  work  among  the  men  at  this  time 
and  was  occupied  preparing  some  of  them  for  baptism 
and  the  holy  communion.  That  last  Sunday  (March 


WINTER  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864-65  251 

5th)  I  had  a  large  and  interested  congregation.  It  was 
to  be  my  last  service  with  the  regiment,  for  when,  on 
the  7th  of  March,  it  was  ordered  off,  I  could  not  accom 
pany  it,  for  my  horse  had  completely  broken  down  - 
was  in  fact  quite  unable  to  carry  me,  and  so  I  was  left 
behind.  In  about  a  week,  being  unable  to  procure  a 
fresh  mount  near  Richmond,  I  obtained  leave  to  go  to 
Staunton  for  the  purpose. 

Before  I  left,  on  Sunday,  March  12th,  I  preached 
again  at  St.  Paul's  in  the  evening.  My  sermon  was  on 
"The  Divine  Providence  in  Human  Affairs/7  and  my 
text  was, 

Ps.  xcvii.  1,  2:  "The  Lord  reigneth  .  .  .  clouds  and 
darkness  are  round  about  Him.  Righteousness  and  judg 
ment  are  the  habitation  of  His  throne." 

The  following  extract  may  be  of  interest  as  illustrat 
ing  the  state  of  mind  of  clergy  and  people  at  that  crisis 
in  the  history  of  the  Confederacy: 

In  conclusion  what  should  be  our  state  of  mind  in  view 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  text?  What  practical  effect  should 
belief  in  God's  universal  providence  have  upon  us? 

1.  We  should  rejoice.  "The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  Earth 
rejoice."  After  all,  "  though  the  heathen  rage  and  the  people 
imagine  a  vain  thing"  "the  Lord  reigneth:"  He  will  "make 
the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him"  and  "the  remainder  of 
wrath"  He  will  "restrain."  "Fret  not  thyself,"  timid 
believer,  "because  of  evil  doers,  neither  be  thou  envious 
against  the  workers  of  iniquity,  for  they  shall  soon  be  cut 
down  like  the  grass,  and  wither  as  the  green  herb."  Yes! 
blessed  be  God,  the  wicked  shall  not  always  triumph; 
Truth  and  Justice  will  assert  their  rightful  supremacy; 
Innocence  will  be  vindicated;  and  right  will  at  last  be  might; 
because  "the  Lord  reigneth." 


252  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

For  right  is  might  since  God  is  God; 

And  right  the  day  must  win; 
To  doubt  would  be  disloyalty, 

To  falter  would  be  sin. 

Christian,  are  you  anxious  and  troubled?  It  is  your 
privilege  to  be  calm  and  confident.  Does  the  future  fill 
you  with  evil  forebodings?  Does  it  seem  to  hang  over  you 
like  some  frowning  precipice?  It  is  your  privilege  to  "take 
no  thought  for  the  morrow"  and  to  rely  on  his  promise 
"my  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee."  Remember,  though  the 
heavens  may  gather  blackness,  though  thunders  roll  and 
lightnings  gleam,  though  the  depths  may  yawn  and  the 
billows  mount  up  to  the  skies,  —  yet  above  all  "the  Lord 
reigneth."  The  issue  is  in  His  hands.  He  can  still  the  raging  of 
the  sea,  and  command  a  great  calm,  and  we  have  His  promise 
that  "all  things  shall  work  together  for  good  to  those  that 
love  Him."  Brethren,  it  is  more  than  our  privilege,  it  is 
our  duty  to  believe  His  word.  We  live  in  the  midst  of 
troublous  times.  The  calamity  is  not  yet  overpast.  We 
are  arrived  at  the  crisis  in  the  fate  of  our  beloved  country. 
Whatever  the  result,  the  Christian  need  not  fear.  He  is 
in  the  hands  of  his  covenant  God,  and  he  may  calmly 
await  the  issue.  Calmly?  Yes!  but  not  idly;  he  has  a  work 
to  do,  he  owes  a  duty  to  his  country  and  as  a  Christian  he 
must  perform  it.  His  country  is  in  danger,  what  can  he 
do?  Take  his  place  among  her  soldiers  and  stand  up  for 
her  defence?  Yes,  this  he  must  do;  but  this  is  not  all.  The 
battle  is  not  to  the  strong.  "The  Lord  reigneth,"  his  Lord 
who  has  promised  to  hear  his  prayer,  and  he  must  take  his 
place  upon  his  knees  and  pray  for  divine  help. 

2.  The  doctrine  of  divine  providence  should  also  make 
us  tremble  lest  we  resist  His  will  and  bring  down  His  ven 
geance  upon  our  guilty  heads.  "The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the 
people  tremble!"  Ah,  with  what  awful  solemnity  ought 
these  words  to  fall  upon  the  ears  of  a  nation  engaged  like 


WINTER  CAMPAIGN  OF  1864-65  253 

ours  in  a  struggle  for  existence  with  an  enemy  vastly  their 
superior  in  numbers  and  all  material  resources!  Let  us 
tremble,  lest  in  a  spirit  of  boastfulness  and  self-confidence 
we  rely  upon  our  own  valor  and  prowess  and  forget  to 
ask  help  of  Him  in  whose  hands  are  the  issues  of  life  and 
death,  of  victory  and  defeat!  Let  us  tremble,  lest  by  per 
sisting  in  our  impenitence  and  rebellion  and  plunging  into 
reckless  gayety  and  dissipation,  while  on  the  very  verge  of 
ruin,  we  excite  the  indignation  of  that  God  upon  whose 
favor  alone  we  depend  for  success.  Let  us  tremble,  lest  we 
harden  our  necks  and  despise  the  chastening  of  the  Lord; 
lest  in  our  madness  we  charge  God  with  injustice;  lest  we 
exhibit  in  our  own  case  an  example  of  the  prophet's  words, 
"The  people  turneth  not  to  Him  that  smiteth  them,  neither 
do  they  seek  the  Lord  of  Hosts,"  -therefore  "His  anger 
is  not  turned  away,  but  His  hand  is  stretched  out  still." 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE   CLOSE    OF   THE   DRAMA 

ABOUT  this  time  occurred  the  famous  Hampton 
Roads  Conference  between  the  representatives 
of  the  Confederate  Government  and  Mr.  Lincoln. 
Much  discussion  grew  out  of  it,  and  it  was  feared  the 
resolution  of  the  people  and  of  the  army  to  continue 
the  struggle  would  be  shaken.  To  counteract  such  a 
tendency,  a  meeting  of  our  regiment  was  held  on  Febru 
ary  13th,  and  the  situation  of  the  country  was  discussed. 
I  took  part  in  the  discussion,  and  offered  a  series  of 
resolutions  which  were  enthusiastically  adopted.  They 
were  as  follows: 

PREAMBLE   AND    RESOLUTIONS 

Whereas,  under  the  influence  of  the  reverses  which  have 
recently  befallen  our  arms,  a  feeling  of  despondency  and 
gloom  has  manifested  itself  among  the  people  at  home;  and 

Whereas,  the  impression  seems  to  prevail  that  the  soldiers 
in  the  field  are  likewise  discouraged  and  disheartened  — 
even  to  the  point  of  being  willing  to  make  peace  with  our 
enemies  on  the  basis  of  Reconstruction: 

Thereupon,  be  it  resolved,  That  we  indignantly  repel  the 
charge  of  despondency,  as  a  slander  upon  our  good  name  as 
Confederate  Soldiers,  and  as  unjust  to  the  past  services  we 
have  rendered;  and  we  do  at  the  same  time  declare  our  deter 
mination  never  willingly  to  lay  down  our  arms,  until  we  have 
extorted  from  the  world  an  acknowledgment  of  our  right  to 
govern  ourselves. 

254 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  DRAMA  255 

Resolved,  2d,  that  far  from  considering  our  past  reverses 
as  just  cause  for  despondency  or  despair,  we  look  upon  them 
as  urgent  appeals  for  more  vigorous  and  determined  efforts 
than  we  have  ever  yet  put  forth;  and  we  deem  this  a  fit 
occasion  for  reiterating  our  belief  that  these  States  are  fully 
equal  to  the  task  they  have  undertaken  of  throwing  off 
the  yoke  of  Northern  oppression  and  fanaticism,  and  vindi 
cating  their  God-given  right  to  be  free. 

Resolved,  3d,  that  to  talk  of  submission  or  compromise 
at  this  stage  of  the  struggle  —  when  we  have  already  paid 
the  price  of  liberty  in  the  blood  of  our  best  and  bravest  — 
would  be  the  basest  treachery  to  the  memory  of  those  who 
have  fallen,  and  would  prove  us  unworthy  of  freedom  — 
unworthy  the  possession  of  this  fair  Southern  land. 

Resolved,  4-th,  that  having  entered  upon  this  contest 
with  the  conviction  that  our  rights  and  interests  were  no 
longer  safe  under  the  government  of  the  United  States; 
and  the  developments  of  the  past  four  years  having  doubly 
confirmed  our  worst  apprehensions,  we  cannot  see  any 
distinction  between  Reconstruction  and  subjugation,  except 
that  in  the  latter  case,  though  everything  else  were  lost, 
honor  at  least  would  remain  to  us. 

Resolved,  5th,  that  we  hail  the  accession  of  Gen.  Robert 
E.  Lee  to  the  supreme  leadership  of  our  armies  as  an  omen 
of  victory;  and  we  are  satisfied  that  uncompromising  firmness 
and  self-sacrificing  patriotism  on  the  part  of  the  army  and 
the  people  in  the  coming  campaign  are  all  that  is  necessary, 
under  the  guidance  and  blessing  of  Almighty  God,  to  secure 
our  independence,  and  restore  to  us  the  halcyon  days  of 
peace. 

Resolved,  6th,  that  the  best  way  to  incline  our  enemies 
to  peace  is  to  prepare  vigorously  for  war;  and  we  warn  our 
people  that  the  apparent  willingness  of  the  Washington 
government  to  treat  for  peace  is  a  veil  for  hostile  purposes, 
and  is  intended  to  paralyze  our  energies  and  sow  discord 
and  discontent  among  our  citizens  and  soldiers. 


256  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

The  sentiments  of  these  resolutions  were  those 
entertained  by  Lee's  brave  soldiers  at  this  period  of 
the  tremendous  struggle,  when  the  surrender  of  his 
army  and  the  collapse  of  the  Southern  Confederacy 
was  so  near  at  hand  —  only  seven  weeks  away.  We 
in  the  field  could  not  realize  the  true  situation.  The 
fatal  mistake  of  removing  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  from 
the  command  of  the  Southwestern  Army  had  destroyed 
the  last  hope  of  resisting  Sherman's  advance  in  that 
direction.  After  Hood's  defeat  the  cotton  States 
were  at  his  mercy  —  and  his  " tender  mercies"  were 
" cruel"  indeed.  Even  if  Lee  could  continue  to  hold 
out  against  the  hosts  of  General  Grant,  beleaguering 
Petersburg  and  Richmond,  it  was  now  only  a  question 
of  time  when  he  would  find  Sherman  with  a  great  army 
marching  on  his  rear.  Yet  his  great  soul  did  not  quail 
even  then,  and  the  men  who  had  followed  him  with 
supreme  devotion  since  June,  1862,  could  not  believe 
that  defeat  was  possible,  while  he  was  still  their  com 
mander.  They  hailed  his  recent  appointment  to  be 
commander-in-chief  of  all  the  Confederate  armies  as 
an  omen  of  victory.  They  did  not  realize  that  this 
appointment  came  at  least  a  twelvemonth  too  late. 
Had  Lee  been  in  supreme  command  in  May,  1864,  as 
Grant  was  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  the  story 
of  the  war  would  have  been  greatly  different.  Joseph 
E.  Johnston  would  not  have  been  removed  —  Sher 
man  would  perhaps  have  been  defeated — certainly  he 
would  have  been  checked,  and  his  march  to  the  sea 
might  never  have  taken  place.  One  also  may  believe 
that  the  genius  of  Gen.  Nathan  Bedford  Forrest  would 
have  been  recognized  by  Lee  in  time  to  have  given 
scope  to  his  marvellous  abilities  for  General  Sherman's 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  DRAMA  257 

discomfiture.  That  brilliant  plan  which  he  vainly 
submitted  to  the  Richmond  authorities  for  cutting  off 
Sherman's  communications  could  hardly  have  failed 
to  secure  the  approval  of  Lee. 

Lord  Wolseley,  in  his  appreciation  of  Lee,  published 
shortly  after  the  death  of  the  latter,  truly  said  that 
whoever  would  justly  estimate  what  Lee  accomplished 
must  take  into  consideration  the  important  fact  that 
he  was  never  given  supreme  command  until  within  a 
few  weeks  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Confederacy.  Even 
his  direction  of  the  movements  of  the  Army  of  North 
ern  Virginia  was  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Rich 
mond  authorities.  It  is  almost  pathetic  to  read  that 
when  Lee  was  planning  his  campaign  into  Pennsyl 
vania  in  1863,  he  had  to  submit  it  for  approval  to  Jas. 
A.  Seddon,  Secretary  of  War.  One  feature  of  his  plan 
was,  in  fact,  negatived  by  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis.  I 
mean  the  organization  of  an  army  (however  small)  at 
Manassas  under  Lieutenant-General  Beauregard.  This 
would  have  been  a  menace  to  Washington,  and  might 
have  held  a  portion  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in 
its  defence,  thus  weakening  the  strength  of  the  army 
which  Lee  was  to  meet  at  Gettysburg. 

But  as  we  see  it  now,  the  task  of  the  Confederate 
generals  was  too  great  for  human  hands  to  accomplish. 
The  South  was  worn  out  by  attrition  and  starvation. 
Her  resources  were  exhausted.  Her  ports  were  closed 
-  hermetically  sealed  by  the  great  navy  of  the  United 
States  —  and  she  had  not  within  her  own  territory  the 
supplies  necessary  to  carry  on  such  a  war  against  so 
rich  and  powerful  a  foe.  The  process  of  exhaustion  had 
been  going  on  till  her  sources  of  life  were  almost  gone. 

"In  my  opinion,  as  a  student  of  war,"  wrote  Vis- 


258  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

count  Lord  Wolseley  to  me  some  years  ago,  "it  was 
the  blockade  of  your  ports  that  killed  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  not  the  action  of  the  Northern  armies."1 
This  view  was  ably  set  forth  by  the  Hon.  Hilary  A. 
Herbert  in  an  address  delivered  while  he  was  Secretary 
of  the  Navy;  and  Hon.  Chas.  Francis  Adams,  in  his 
oration  at  Lexington,  Va.,  at  the  centennial  of  General 
Lee's  birth,  presented  the  same  view  with  great  force. 

I  come  now  to  the  end  of  the  story  of  my  experi 
ences  as  chaplain  of  the  Second  Cavalry. 

On  the  15th  of  March  I  left  Richmond  for  Staunton 
by  the  Danville  R.  R.,  accompanied  by  my  wife,  who 
had  been  a  guest  at  Westwood,  the  home  of  Col.  Thos. 
H.  Ellis,  for  a  week  or  two,  and  my  father-in-law, 

1  Following  is  the  text  of  the  letter  referred  to  above. 

FARM  HOUSE,  GLYNDE,  LEWES, 
DEAR  8m:  November  12,  1904. 

It  was  very  kind  of  you  to  send  me  a  copy  of  your  speech  to  the 
Confederate  veterans.  I  have  perused  it  with  the  deepest  interest. 
It  has  revived  my  remembrance  of  the  sympathy  with  which  I  watched 
the  campaigns  to  which  you  so  eloquently  allude  in  "The  Confederate 
Soldier,  his  Motives  and  Aims." 

I  have  often  pondered  over  the  effect  upon  the  future  of  the  United 
States  that  a  refusal  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  hand  us  back  Messrs. 
Mason  and  Slidell  would  have  had.  In  my  opinion,  as  a  student  of 
war,  the  Confederates  must  have  won  had  the  blockade  of  the  Southern 
ports  been  removed  by  us,  as  it  would  have  been  at  once  if  the  North 
had  been  ruled  by  a  flashy  politician  instead  of  the  very  able  and  far- 
seeing  Mr.  Abraham  Lincoln. 

It  was  the  blockade  of  your  ports  that  killed  the  Southern  Con 
federacy,  not  the  action  of  the  Northern  armies. 

However,  you  are  now  a  united  people,  and  as  such  by  far  the  great 
est  power  in  the  world.  I  earnestly  hope  our  two  nations  may  always 
be  closely  united.  With  such  a  union  of  heart  and  strength  firmly 
established,  we  might  easily  forbid  all  great  wars  in  the  world.  What 
a  glorious  end  to  aim  at! 

I  have  always  hoped  for  such  a  close  alliance  of  the  English  race 


THE   CLOSE  OF  THE   DRAMA  259 

Rev.  Richard  H.  Phillips,  who  had  returned  from  the 
military  prison  at  Camp  Chase,  Ohio,  where  he  had 
been  confined  for  ten  months.  I  have  already  referred 
to  the  sad  change  in  this  noble  gentleman,  which  the 
privations  and  sufferings  of  his  imprisonment  had 
wrought.  The  train  which  took  us  out  of  Richmond 
carried  also  a  large  number  of  exchanged  prisoners. 
They  presented  a  pitiful  sight  —  many  of  them  ema 
ciated  to  the  last  degree,  many  suffering  with  dis 
tressing  coughs  that  showed  they  were  marked  for 
the  grave.  It  could  not  be  expected  that  one  out  of 
ten  of  that  train  load  of  Confederate  soldiers  would 
ever  be  fit  for  duty  again.  The  treatment  of  Northern 
prisoners  in  Southern  prisons  has  been  much  discussed. 
An  important  sidelight  is  cast  on  this  subject  by  a 
consideration  of  the  conditions  existing  in  the  South 
during  the  war.  As  regards  medicines,  let  it  be  noted 
that  quinine  sold  in  Richmond  as  early  as  July,  1862, 
for  $60  an  ounce,  while  in  New  York  it  was  but  $5 
per  ounce.  That  was  before  Confederate  currency 
had  so  frightfully  depreciated.  As  regards  food  and 
clothing,  I  see  from  my  diary  that  in  February,  1864, 

throughout  the  world,  for  every  Christian  man  must  realize,  that 
whilst  war  is  a  dire  scourge,  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  toward  all 
men  is  not  only  the  highest  philosophy,  but  the  injunction  of  Him 
whose  followers  we  all  profess  to  be. 

Again  thanking  you  for  your  great  kindness  in  sending  me  a  copy 
of  your  great  speech,  allow  me  to  subscribe  myself, 

Yours  very  faithfully, 

WOLSELEY. 

To  THE  REVD.  R.  H.  McKiM,  etc.,  etc., 

Washington,  U.  S. 

P.  S.  —  It  was  most  kind  of  Mrs.  Hugh  Lee  to  ask  you  to  send  me 
the  copy  of  the  speech  in  question.  ^ 

The  speech  to  which  Lord  Wolseley  refers  is  given  in  the  Appendix, 
p.  286. 


260  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

milk  was  $2  per  gallon;  a  pound  of  candles  cost  $7;  a 
pair  of  boots,  $140;  half  soling  a  pair  of  boots,  $11;  a 
roadside  breakfast,  $5;  a  box  of  blacking,  $4;  a  halter, 
$10;  butter,  $5  per  pound;  1  pair  of  shoestrings,  $1.50. 
In  December,  1864,  I  bought  6  pounds  butter  for  $54, 
1  turkey,  $17,  1  spool  cotton,  $5,  soap,  $2  per  pound. 
In  January,  1865,  1  yard  mourning  crepe  cost  $140, 
putting  one  shoe  on  my  horse,  $5.  Five  dollars  in 
gold  brought  $200.  Soon  after  a  pair  of  woman's 
shoes  cost  $200,  and  3  pounds  of  tea  and  a  few  pounds 
of  sugar  cost  $465.  It  is  recorded  hi  the  diary  of  a 
refugee  that  in  Richmond,  the  last  winter  of  the  war, 
sugar  was  $20  per  pound,  meal,  $40  per  bushel,  flour, 
$300  per  barrel,  ham,  $7  per  pound.  One  feed  for  a 
horse  cost  $5,  board  of  a  horse  for  one  month,  $300. 

At  the  table  of  General  Lee,  commander-in-chief 
of  the  Confederate  armies,  there  was  meat  only  twice 
a  week,  while  the  usual  fare  was  boiled  cabbage  and 
sweet  potatoes  and  corn  pone. 

How,  then,  could  our  prisoners  be  properly  fed  amid 
such  scarcity  of  provisions?  And  how  could  they  be 
properly  supplied  with  medicines  when  these  existed 
in  such  very  small  quantities  in  the  South?  Medi 
cines  had  been  made,  by  the  United  States  authorities, 
contraband  of  war. 

It  ought  also  to  be  remembered  that  Jefferson  Davis 
offered  in  the  summer  of  1864  to  surrender  the  sick  and 
wounded  Federal  prisoners  in  his  hands  without  equiv 
alent,  but  though  the  offer  was  accepted,  the  neces 
sary  transportation  did  not  arrive  until  the  following 
November. 

Again  I  recall  the  fact  that  General  Grant  refused 
to  carry  out  the  cartel  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners, 


THE    CLOSE  OF  THE  DRAMA  261 

lest  the  Confederate  armies  should  be  reinforced.     In 
August,  1864,  he  wrote  to  General  Butler  as  follows: 

"it  is  hard  on  our  men  in  Southern  prisons  not  to  exchange 
them,  but  it  is  humanity  to  those  left  in  the  ranks  left  to 
fight  our  battles.  At  this  particular  time,  to  release  all 
rebel  prisoners  North  would  insure  Sherman's  defeat  and 
would  compromise  our  safety  here." 

I  will  not  stop  to  observe  at  how  much  higher  valua 
tion  this  shows  that  one  Southern  soldier  was  held 
than  one  Northern  soldier,  but  I  ask,  Upon  whom, 
then,  rests  the  responsibility  for  the  prolongation  of 
the  suffering  of  Northern  soldiers  in  Southern  prisons? 

I  believe  that  as  a  rule  the  Confederate  authorities 
did  the  best  they  could  for  the  prisoners  they  held, 
if  regard  be  had  to  the  scarcity  of  provisions  and  the 
great  paucity  of  medicines  and  hospital  comforts  in 
the  South  at  that  time. 

Can  the  same  be  said  for  the  United  States  author 
ities  in  their  treatment  of  Southern  prisoners  of  war? 

But  the  best  refutation  of  the  charge  against  the 
South  in  this  respect  is  furnished  by  a  comparison  of 
the  statistics  of  the  respective  mortality  in  the  prisons 
at  the  North  and  those  at  the  South. 

The  whole  number  of  Federal  prisoners  in  Southern 
prisons  was,  in  round  numbers,  270,000,  and  of  Con 
federate  prisoners  in  Northern  prisons  220,000.  But 
the  deaths  of  Confederates  in  Northern  prisons  were 
26,436,  while  of  Union  soldiers  in  the  Southern  prisons 
only  22,576  died.  (See  Report  of  Mr.  Stanton,  Fed 
eral  Secretary  of  War,  dated  July  19,  1866  —  also 
Report  of  Federal  Surgeon-General  Barnes.)  Thus 
the  per  centum  of  deaths  in  Southern  prisons  was  less 


262  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

than  nine,  while  the  per  centum  of  deaths  in  Northern 
prisons  was  more  than  twelve.1 

1  At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  May  21,  1861,  the  Confederate  Con 
gress  passed  an  Act  providing  that 

"Rations  furnished  prisoners  of  war  shall  be  the  same  in  quantity 
and  quality  as  those  furnished  to  enlisted  men  in  the  army  of  the  Con 
federacy." 

And  in  General  Orders,  No.  159,  the  Commissary-General  ordered 
that  — 

"Hospitals  for  prisoners  of  war  are  placed  on  the  same  footing  as 
other  Confederate  States  Hospitals  in  all  respects." 

These  orders  were  loyally  obeyed. 

The  publication  of  the  reports  and  correspondence  relative  to  the 
exchange  and  treatment  of  prisoners  —  they  fill  four  volumes  of  the 
"Rebellion  Records"  —  furnishes  a  complete  vindication  of  the  Con 
federate  Government  from  responsibility  for  the  sufferings  of  Federal 
prisoners  in  the  Southern  prisons.  They  show  that  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  the  war  the  authorities  of  the  Confederacy  were  eager  to 
exchange  the  prisoners  in  their  hands,  but  not  till  July  22,  1862,  did 
the  work  of  exchange  begin.  It  continued  till  April  1,  1864,  less  than 
two  years,  when  it  was  stopped  by  General  Grant,  and  was  not  resumed 
till  the  latter  part  of  January,  1865.  And  it  was  during  this  period 
that  the  greatest  suffering  and  mortality  of  the  prisoners  in  our  hands 
occurred,  —  because  of  the  great  scarcity  of  food,  and  clothing,  and 
medicines,  and  other  comforts  in  the  South  at  that  period. 

To  meet  this  unfortunate  situation  and  to  mitigate  the  great  suffer 
ing,  Judge  Ould,  the  Confederate  commissioner  on  exchange  for  pris 
oners,  proposed  October  6,  1864,  "that  each  government  shall  have 
the  privilege  of  forwarding  for  the  use  and  comfort  of  such  of  its  pris 
oners  as  are  held  by  the  other,  necessary  articles  of  food  and  clothing." 

It  took  a  whole  month  to  get  the  consent  of  the  Federal  authorities 
to  this  proposal.  Previous  to  this,  January  24,  1864,  Judge  Ould 
proposed  that  the  prisoners  on  each  side  should  be  attended  by  their 
own  surgeons,  and  that  these  "should  act  as  Commissaries,  with  power 
to  receive  and  distribute  such  contributions  of  money,  food,  clothing, 
and  medicines  as  may  be  forwarded  for  the  relief  of  prisoners."  These 
surgeons  were  also  to  have  full  liberty  to  make  reports  to  their  respect 
ive  governments  of  any  matters  relating  to  the  welfare  of  prisoners. 

To  this  humane  proposal  of  the  Confederate  commission  no  reply 
was  ever  made.  But  it  remains  on  record,  pointing  forever  an  accusing 
finger  at  the  United  States  authorities,  who  would  not  embrace  the 


THE    CLOSE  OF  THE   DRAMA  263 

But  to  resume  my  narrative.  We  had  a  long  and 
laborious  journey.  The  first  Sunday  after  our  de 
parture,  March  19th,  we  had  arrived  in  Lynchburg, 
where  I  preached  in  St.  Paul's  morning  and  evening. 
From  that  place  we  proceeded  in  an  open  wagon,  on 
the  22d,  reaching  Lexington  on  the  evening  of  the  23d. 

opportunity  of  relieving  the  sufferings  of  the  unfortunates  in  the  pris 
ons,  North  and  South. 

By  a  stroke  of  his  pen  General  Grant  could  have  emptied  the  pris 
ons  at  Richmond,  Andersonville,  and  other  Southern  places;  but  he 
would  not  do  it.  Why?  Because,  as  we  now  know,  "he  preferred  that 
the  Confederates  should  be  burdened  with  caring  for  these  Federal 
prisoners  when  living,  and  charged  with  their  death,  should  they  die." 

To  any  reader  who  is  under  the  impression  that  the  conditions 
existing  in  Libby  Prison  and  at  Andersonville  find  no  parallel  in  any 
Northern  prison,  we  commend  the  perusal  of  the  report  of  Dr.  Wm.  H. 
Van  Buren,  of  New  York,  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  Sanitary 
Commission,  May  10,  1863,  in  which  a  state  of  things  is  described  at 
Camp  Douglas  and  at  St.  Louis,  among  the  Southern  prisoners,  too 
horrible  to  quote.  The  physicians  who  investigated  the  condition  of 
the  prisoners  at  St.  Louis,  say: 

"It  surely  is  not  the  intention  of  our  government  to  place  these 
prisoners  in  a  position  which  will  secure  their  extermination  by  pes 
tilence  in  less  than  a  year." 

To  conclude,  let  me  quote  the  language  of  Mr.  Charles  A.  Dana, 
who  was  the  Federal  Assistant  Secretary  of  War  during  the  war. 
In  an  editorial  in  the  New  York  Sun  (in  1876)  he  said: 

"The  Confederate  authorities,  and  especially  Mr.  Davis,  ought 
not  to  be  held  responsible  for  the  terrible  privations,  sufferings,  and 
injuries  which  our  men  had  to  endure  while  they  were  kept  in  Confeder 
ate  military  prisons.  The  fact  is  unquestionable,  that  while  the  Con 
federates  desired  to  exchange  prisoners,  to  send  our  men  home,  and  to 
get  back  their  own,  General  Grant  steadily  and  persistently  resisted 
such  an  exchange.  ...  It  was  not  the  Confederate  authorities  who 
insisted  on  keeping  our  prisoners  in  distress,  want,  and  disease,  but 
the  commander  of  our  own  armies.  .  .  .  Moreover  there  is  no  evidence 
whatever  that  it  was  practicable  for  the  Confederate  authorities  to 
feed  our  prisoners  any  better  than  they  were  fed,  or  to  give  them  any 
better  care  and  attention  than  they  received." 

See  "Official  Report  of  the  History  Committee  of  the  Grand  Camp, 
C.  V.,  Department  of  Virginia,  by  Hon.  Geo.  L.  Christian." 


264  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

There  we  rested  till  Monday,  27th,  and  on  the  26th  I 
preached  for  Dr.  Norton,  then  in  charge  of  the  church 
there, — its  rector,  Rev.  Dr.  Pendleton  (a  graduate  of 
West  Point)  being  an  artillery  officer  in  Lee's  army. 
After  a  tedious  wagon  journey  we  at  length  arrived  in 
Staunton  on  the  27th  at  eleven  P.M.  As  soon  as  possible 
I  procured  a  fresh  horse  —  a  beautiful  bay  mare, 
the  best  mount  I  had  during  the  war  —  and  set  out 
to  rejoin  my  regiment. 

But  it  was  too  late.  As  I  approached  Richmond, 
I  learned  it  had  been  evacuated,  and  soon  found  the 
enemy  were  between  me  and  our  army.  After  several 
futile  attempts,  I  at  length  reached  a  point  nine  miles 
from  Appomattox,  only  to  learn  that  General  Lee 
had  that  day,  April  9th,  surrendered  what  remained 
of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  It  was  impos 
sible  to  believe  it,  until  I  saw  some  of  the  men  who 
had  been  included  in  the  surrender  and  been  paroled. 
To  say  that  I  was  not  prepared  for  such  an  issue  feebly 
expresses  what  I  felt.  Such  was  the  confidence  of 
Lee's  soldiers  in  his  supreme  ability  that,  spite  or~afl 
the  evidences  of  the  exhaustion  of  the  Confederacy 
and  the  depletion  of  its  armies,  we  could  not  for  a  mo 
ment  entertain  the  thought  that  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  could  be  compelled  to  lay  down  its  arms  and 
give  up  the  struggle.  The  fact  is  that  army  was  starved 
out  —  or  rather  the  South  was  starved  out,  and  could 
no  longer  feed  its  people  or  its  soldiers.  The  number 
of  desertions  from  the  ranks  during  the  previous  month 
was  ominous  of  the  end  that  was  preparing.  And  the 
reason  was  to  be  sought,  not  in  the  weakening  of  the 
resolution  or  the  devotion  of  the  men,  but  in  the  plead 
ings  of  the  women  at  home.  The  distress  existing  in 


THE  CLOSE  OF   THE  DRAMA  265 

the  farmhouses  and  cabins,  where  dwelt  the  wives  and 
children  of  the  soldiers  of  Lee's  army,  had  become  so 
acute  that  it  could  no  longer  be  borne  in  silence;  anc( 
every  mail  brought  letters  to  the  men,  telling  the  hard 
conditions  of  life  —  the  desperate  straits  to  which  their 
families  were  reduced  —  and  appealing  to  them  to 
come  home  and  help  keep  them  from  starvation. 
These  appeals  were  heart-rending,  and  if  the  men,  by 
hundreds  and  thousands,  responded  by  deserting  the 
ranks  and  hastening  to  the  relief  of  their  wives  and 
children,  who  will  throw  the  first  stone  of  condemna 
tion  at  the  course  they  took?  That  they  meant  to 
return  to  the  colors,  when  they  had  put  in  a  crop,  or 
made  some  provision  for  the  wants  of  their  families, 
I  do  not  doubt. 

I  will  here  set  down  the  substance  of  a  conversation 
I  had  many  years  afterward  with  Gen.  Custis  Lee, 
the  eldest  son  of  our  commader-in-chief.  The  facts 
he  related  are  surely  most  important  to  the  right  under 
standing  of  this  last  act  in  the  great  drama  of  the  Civil 
War. 

Gen.  Custis  Lee  was  captured  at  the  battle  of  Sailor's 
Creek,  together  with  many  other  Confederate  officers. 
There  followed  kindly  greetings  between  the  Union 
and  the  Southern  soldiers,  some  of  whom  had  been 
associated  in  the  old  Federal  army.  While  this  was 
going  on,  Gen.  Custis  Lee  says  one  of  the  Union  officers 
(it  was  General  Benham)  said  to  one  of  the  Confed 
erates,  "Oh,  you  could  not  get  away.  We  knew  before 
hand  every  move  you  were  going  to  make!"  Asked 
to  explain  his  meaning,  he  said  that  when  the  Union 
Army  entered  Richmond,  one  of  the  first  places  they 
made  for  was  the  executive  mansion,  and  there  in  a 


266  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

scrap  basket  a  soldier  picked  up  a  document  which 
proved  to  be  a  communication  from  General  Lee  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  containing  information  of  the 
most  important  character.  It  seems  that  the  Con 
federate  Congress  (one  or  both  houses,  I  do  not  remem 
ber  which)  had  requested  General  Lee  to  inform  the 
President  what  his  plans  were,  in  the  event  of  its  becom 
ing  necessary  to  evacuate  Richmond;  and  General 
Lee  (always  obedient  to  the  civil  authority)  had  sent 
to  Mr.  Davis  a  confidential  statement,  indicating  the 
lines  by  which  he  would  withdraw  his  army,  and  the 
points  where  he  wished  supplies  to  be  accumulated 
for  its  use. 

The  officer  to  whom  this  document  was  shown  at 
once  recognized  its  great  importance,  and  took  immedi 
ate  steps  to  have  it  forwarded,  post  haste,  to  General 
Grant,  so  that  within  twenty-four  hours  after  Lee 
began  his  retreat,  his  whole  plan  of  operations  was  laid 
before  the  Union  commander. 

Gen.  Custis  Lee  told  me  that  some  time  after  the 
conclusion  of  the  war  he  was  in  his  father's  office  going 
over  some  papers  with  him,  and  then  for  the  first 
time  narrated  to  him  what  General  Benham  of  the 
Union  Army  had  said  on  that  occasion.  When  General 
Lee  heard  the  story  he  was  greatly  moved,  and  ex 
claimed,  "  Well,  Custis,  that  explains  it!  I  could  never, 
till  now,  understand  why  I  failed  to  extricate  that 
army.  I  never  worked  harder  than  I  did  to  accom 
plish  it,  yet  every  move  I  made  was  at  once  check 
mated.  It  also  explains  why  General  Grant,  who, 
the  first  day  after  the  evacuation  of  Petersburg  seemed 
hesitating  and  uncertain  in  his  movements,  became  sud 
denly  very  vigorous  and  displayed  more  energy,  skill, 


THE   CLOSE  OF  THE  DRAMA  267 

and  judgment  in  his  movements  than  I  ever  knew 
him  to  display  before." 

This  extraordinary  incident  is  of  the  deepest  interest 
to  the  student  of  that  campaign,  and  explains  to  us,  who 
were  Lee's  soldiers,  how  it  came  to  pass  that  his  army 
was  so  soon  and  so  hopelessly  hemmed  in.1 

The  most  candid  of  the  Federal  historians,  Dr. 
James  Ford  Rhodes,  expresses  the  opinion  that  "in 
these  final  operations  Grant  outgeneralled  Lee.  The 
conditions,"  he  says,  "were  not  unequal:  49,000  men 
opposed  113,000,  and  the  game  was  escape  or  surrender. 
He  also  intimates  that  some  Confederate  writers  have 
admitted  that  "if  everything  had  been  managed  prop 
erly  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  might  have  eluded 
surrender  and  protracted  the  war." 

In  reply  let  it  first  be  said  that  if  the  Confederate 
officers  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  affairs  at  the 

1 1  append  a  copy  of  a  letter  on  this  subject  addressed  to  Major 
Walthall,  and  printed  in  the  Memoirs  of  Jefferson  Davis  by  his  wife 
(1890),  Vol.  II,  p.  595.  But  I  have  preferred  to  give  in  the  text  the 
incident  as  related  to  me  orally  by  Gen.  G.  W.  C.  Lee  on  the  occasion 
referred  to. 

"After  I  was  taken  prisoner  at  Sailor's  Creek,  with  the  greater 
part  of  the  commands  of  General  Ewell  and  General  Dick  Anderson, 
and  was  on  my  way  to  Petersburg  with  the  officers  of  the  three  com 
mands,  we  met  the  United  States  engineer  brigade  under  command 
of  General  Benham,  whom  I  knew  prior  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war 
as  one  of  the  captains  of  my  own  corps  —  the  engineers. 

"He  did  not  apparently  recognize  me,  and  I  did  not  make  myself 
known  to  him;  but  he  began  talking  to  General  Ewell,  in  a  loud  tone 
of  voice  which  could  be  distinctly  heard  by  all  around. 

"I  heard  General  Benham  say,  among  other  things,  that  'General 
Weitzel  had  found,  soon  after  his  entrance  into  Richmond,  a  letter 
from  General  Lee,  giving  the  condition  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia  and  what  he  proposed  to  do  should  it  become  necessary  to  with 
draw  from  the  lines  before  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  and  that  the 
letter  was  immediately  sent  to  General  Grant.  In  answer  to  some 


268  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

battle  of  Five  Forks  had  " managed  properly"  -if 
they  had  carried  out  the  plans  of  their  great  chief 
with  a  fair  degree  of  fidelity — that  battle  would  have 
been  a  Confederate  victory,  and  Sheridan,  as  he  testi 
fied  himself,  would  have  been  captured.  But  there 
was  grievous  neglect  —  there  was  inexcusable  derelic 
tion  of  duty  —  and,  as  a  consequence,  Lee's  lines  were 
broken  and  he  was  forced  to  retreat.  If  evidence  of 
the  truth  of  this  statement  is  demanded,  the  fact  that 
the  Confederate  general  officer,  whose  name  has  been 
always  associated  with  the  most  superb  feat  of  arms 
at  Gettysburg,  was  relieved  of  his  command  by  Gen 
eral  Lee  while  on  the  retreat  to  Appomattox  may 
serve  as  sufficient  confirmation  at  least  of  the  opinion 
of  the  commander  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 

So  much  for  the  direct  cause  that  compelled  the  retreat. 
And  for  the  rest,  the  extraordinary  fact  related  by 
Gen.  G.  W.  C.  Lee  is  entirely  sufficient  to  dispose  of 
the  statement  that  Grant  outgeneralled  Lee  in  the 
retreat  to  Appomattox.  When  the  lion  is  caught  in 
the  net,  it  does  not  require  the  skill  of  a  mighty  hunter 
to  slay  him. 

doubt  expressed  by  General  Ewell  or  someone  else,  General  Benham 
replied,  'Oh,  there  is  no  doubt  about  the  letter,  for  I  saw  it  myself.' 
"I  received  the  impression  at  the  time,  or  afterward,  that  this  letter 
was  a  confidential  communication  to  the  Secretary  of  War  in  answer 
to  a  resolution  of  the  Confederate  Congress  asking  for  information 
in  1865.  When  I  mentioned  this  statement  of  General  Benham  to 
General  Lee,  some  time  afterward,  the  latter  said,  'This  accounts  for 
the  energy  of  the  enemy's  pursuit.  The  first  day  after  we  left  the 
lines  he  seemed  to  be  entirely  at  sea  with  regard  to  our  movements; 
after  that,  though  I  never  worked  so  hard  in  my  life  to  withdraw  our 
army  in  safety,  he  displayed  more  energy,  skill,  and  judgment  in  his 
movements  than  I  ever  knew  him  to  display  before.' 

[AtrUeC°Pyl  "G.  W.C.  LEE.» 


THE    CLOSE  OF  THE    DRAMA  269 

Dr.  Rhodes,  it  is  true,  in  the  passage  just  quoted 
wrote  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  chance  had  put 
General  Grant  in  possession  of  the  plans  of  General 
Lee.  But  it  is  strange  that  so  careful  a  writer  should 
have  committed  himself  to  the  statement  that  "the  con 
ditions"  between  the  two  armies  "were  not  unequal." 
He  sees  only  the  naked  fact  of  49,000  Confederates 
against  113,000  —  which,  by  the  way,  is  a  quite  exag 
gerated  estimate  of  Lee's  forces  when  the  retreat  began. 
He  has  no  eyes  for  the  enormous  difference  in  the  equip 
ment  of  the  two  armies,  —  the  one  "armed,  clothed, 
equipped,  fed,  and  sheltered  as  no  similar  force  in  the 
world's  history  had  ever  been  before,"  -the  other 
almost  starved,  having  been  long  on  greatly  reduced 
rations,  scantily  clothed,  its  vitality  lowered  by  expo 
sure  to  cold  and  hail  and  sleet,  and  by  overwork  in  the 
trenches,  consequent  on  the  smallness  of  their  numbers. 
Nor  has  the  Federal  historian  any  recollection  of  the 
difference  between  the  condition  of  the  mounts  of  the 
cavalry  of  the  two  armies.  He  forgets  that  the  horses 
in  Lee's  army  had  long  been,  like  the  men,  on  starva 
tion  rations.  Surely,  when  we  consider  these  facts, 
one  must  say  that  if  ever  two  armies  faced  each  other 
under  unequal  conditions,  it  was  when  the  soldiers  of 
Lee  and  Grant  grappled  with  each  other  in  those  last 
days  before  Appomattox.  The  true  estimate  of  the 
situation  was  given  by  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams 
when  he  said  in  his  oration  at  Lexington: 

"Finally,  when  in  April  the  summons  to  conflict  came,  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  seemed  to  stagger  to  its  feet, 
and,  gaunt  and  grim,  shivering  with  cold  and  emaciated 
with  hunger,  worn  down  by  hard,  unceasing  attrition,  it 
faced  its  enemy,  formidable  still." 


270  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

I  will  not  dwell  upon  the  affecting  scenes  that  were 
witnessed  when  the  terrible  fact  became  known  that 
the  remnant  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  was  to 
be  surrendered  to  General  Grant  and  the  mighty  host 
under  his  command.  Those  heroes  of  more  than  a 
hundred  battles  wept  like  children  when  the  news 
came.  To  the  very  last  they  were  unconquered. 
That  very  morning  they  had  fought  with  all  their 
old  intrepidity  and  resolution.  And  they  would  have 
fought  on,  had  their  beloved  commander  bid  them, 
till  the  last  man  had  fallen  face  to  the  foe;  but  when 
Lee  told  them  to  sheathe  their  swords  and  stack  their 
muskets,  they  obeyed  him,  though  with  breaking  hearts. 

This,  his  last  act  as  the  commander  of  the  Confed 
erate  armies,  was  every  way  worthy  of  his  heroic 
character.  How  much  easier  to  have  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  his  surviving  soldiers  and  died  with  them 
in  one  last  splendid  but  desperate  charge!  Or  again, 
how  much  easier  to  have  yielded  to  the  counsels  of 
some  of  his  captains,  and,  having  cut  his  way  through 
the  encircling  Federal  host,  to  have  continued  the 
struggle  in  a  guerilla  warfare  that  might  have  been 
prolonged  indefinitely! 

Both  of  these  temptations  he  put  aside,  and  rose  to 
the  height  of  the  supreme  sacrifice  which  duty  to  his 
people  demanded.  "The  question  is,"  he  said  to  his 
officers,  "Is  it  right  to  surrender  this  army?  If  it  is 
right,  then  I  will  take  all  the  responsibility."  He  asked 
no  man  to  share  with  him  that  awful  responsibility— 
to  bear  any  part  of  the  burden  of  that  tremendous 
decision.  He  took  it  all  —  he  bore  it  all,  on  his  own 
heroic  shoulders.  Is  there  in  history  any  finer  spectacle 
of  self-devotion  for  duty's  sake  than  this?  Is  it  any 


THE    CLOSE  OF   THE    DRAMA  271 

wonder  his  soldiers  idolized  him,  and  were  ready  to  die 
for  him?    Were  they  not  justified  in  looking  to  him  as 

"The  great  prince  and  man  of  men." 

As  I  draw  the  curtain  over  this  scene  at  Appomattox 
I  would  pay  my  tribute  of  admiration  to  that  superb 
army  whose  history  closed  that  day.  My  own  words 
would  to  some  extent  be  discounted  by  the  fact  that 
I  served  myself  in  its  ranks.  I  will  therefore  rather 
refer  to  the  opinions  of  some  of  its  illustrious  oppo 
nents, —  to  " Fighting  Joe"  Hooker's  testimony  that 
"it  exhibited  a  discipline  and  efficiency  which  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  had  vainly  striven  to  emulate,"  —  to 
the  words  of  Swinton,  "that  incomparable  Southern 
Infantry,  which,  tempered  by  two  years  of  battle,  and 
habituated  to  victory,  equalled  any  soldiers  that  ever 
followed  the  eagles  to  conquest,"  -  to  the  generous 
tribute  of  Major  Jas.  F.  Huntington,  "the  indomitable 
courage,  the  patient  endurance  of  privations,  the 
supreme  devotion  of  the  Southern  soldiers,  will  stand 
on  the  pages  of  history,  as  engraven  on  a  monument 
more  enduring  than  brass,"-  -  to  the  acknowledgment  of 
another  Federal  commander  that  the  army  of  Lee  "was 
the  finest  army  that  ever  marched  on  this  continent." 

To  all  these  tributes  I  add  the  generous  acknowl 
edgment  of  Mr.  Chas.  Francis  Adams  "that  Lee  and 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  never  sustained  de 
feat.  Finally  succumbing  to  exhaustion,  to  the  end 
they  were  not  overthrown  in  fight." 

And  for  myself  I  can  only  repeat  what  I  have  said 
elsewhere  on  a  public  occasion:  "These  men  were  heroes, 
if  ever  heroes  were.  What  hardships  did  they  not 
uncomplainingly  endure,  on  the  march,  in  the  bivouac, 


272  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

in  the  trenches!  What  sacrifices  did  they  not  cheer 
fully  make  for  a  cause  dearer  than  life  itself!  What 
dangers  did  they  not  face  with  unquailing  front!  Who 
that  ever  saw  them  can  forget  those  hardy  battalions 
that  followed  Stonewall  Jackson  in  his  weird  marches 
in  the  great  valley  campaign?  Rusty  and  ragged 
were  their  uniforms,  but  bright  were  their  muskets 
and  their  bayonets,  and  they  moved  like  the  very 
whirlwind  of  war!  .  .  .  They  were  private  soldiers  — 
fame  will  not  herald  their  names  to  posterity.  They 
fought  without  reward,  and  they  died  without  distinc 
tion.  It  was  enough  for  them  to  hear  the  voice  of  duty, 
and  to  follow  it,  though  it  led  them  by  a  rugged  path 
to  a  bloody  grave.  .  .  .  They  were  not  soldiers  of  for 
tune,  but  soldiers  of  conscience,  who  dared  all  that 
men  can  dare,  and  endured  all  that  men  can  endure  in 
obedience  to  what  they  believed  the  call  of  their  coun 
try.  If  ever  men  lived  of  whom  it  could  be  truly  said 
that  their  hearts  echoed  the  sentiment, 

"  Dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  patria  mori " 

these  were  the  men.  They  loved  their  State.  They 
loved  their  homes  and  their  firesides.  They  were  no 
politicians.  Most  of  them  knew  little  of  the  warring 
theories  of  constitutional  interpretation.  But  one 
thing  they  knew  —  armed  legions  were  marching  upon 
their  homes,  and  it  was  their  duty  to  hurl  them  back 
at  any  cost.  For  this,  not  we  only  who  shared  their 
perils  and  hardships  do  them  honor  —  not  the  South 
ern  people  only  —  but  all  brave  men  everywhere. 

"Nameless  they  may  be  on  the  page  of  history, 
but  the  name  of  the  soldier  of  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  will  echo  round  the  world  through  the  ages 


THE   CLOSE  OF  THE   DRAMA  273 

to  come,  and  everywhere  it  will  be  accepted  as  the 
synonym  of  valor,  of  constancy,  and  of  loyalty  to  the 
sternest  call  of  duty." 

As  I  have  stated,  I  was  not  present  at  the  surrender, 
but  having  found  the  enemy  between  me  and  our  army, 
had  made  a  wide  detour,  and  was  still  nine  miles  away 
when  the  news  came  to  me  that  all  was  over. 

As  soon  as  I  was  assured  beyond  doubt  of  the  over 
whelming  fact,  I  turned  Lady  Grey's  head  back  toward 
Staunton,  and  that  day  we  covered  together  sixty-five 
miles, — the  longest  ride  I  had  ever  made.  When,  the 
second  day  after,  I  reached  Staunton,  night  had  set 
in,  and  I  hoped  to  get  home  without  being  observed  or 
recognized.  But  it  was  moonlight,  and  as  I  rode 
through  the  main  street,  I  was  soon  surrounded  by  a 
group  of  men  eager  for  news  from  the  army.  I  said, 
"There  is  news,  but  I  prefer  not  to  tell  you  what  it  is, 
for  I  know  you  will  not  believe  it."  The  answer  was 
a  chorus  of  demands  to  tell  what  it  was.  Again  I 
demurred  and  asked  to  be  excused  —  only  to  meet 
the  same  reply.  So  at  last  I  said,  "Well,  if  you  will 
have  it  —  General  Lee  has  surrendered  to  General 
Grant!"  This,  as  I  anticipated,  was  greeted  with 
derisive  laughter,  and  I  was  told  I  was  demoralized 
and  had  accepted  a  groundless  rumor  as  the  truth. 

In  fact,  the  people  could  not  believe  it  possible.  The 
disaster  was  too  utterly  overwhelming  to  be  accepted 
on  the  testimony  of  one  man. 

When  our  idolized  leader  sheathed  his  sword  at 
Appomattox  the  world  grew  dark  to  us.  We  felt  as  if 
the  sun  had  set  in  blood  to  rise  no  more.  It  was  as  if  the 
foundations  of  the  earth  were  sinking  beneath  our  feet. 

I  recall  saying  to  Dr.  Sparrow  soon  after  my  arrival 


274  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

in  Staunton,  "I  feel  as  if  I  had  nothing  left  to  live  for!" 
-  only  to  receive  from  the  dear  old  man  a  tender  but 
well-deserved  rebuke  for  such  an  unchristian  sentiment. 
In  closing  my  narrative,  I  wish  to  put  on  record  in 
these  pages  that  my  regiment,  the  Second  Virginia  Cav 
alry,  under  the  command  of  that  gallant  gentleman, 
Col.  Gary  Breckinridge,  performed  valiant  service  dur 
ing  the  closing  days  of  the  great  drama.  It  acted  with 
its  accustomed  gallantry,  and  more  cannot  be  said. 
General  Munford  did  not  consider  that  his  cavalry 
was  included  in  the  surrender  of  General  Lee's  army, 
for  reasons  which  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  explain. 
Col.  Gary  Breckinridge  gives  the  following  account  of 
the  course  pursued  by  the  Second  Virginia  Cavalry;  he 
says,  "  After  leaving  Appomattox  Court  House,  we 
made  a  detour  to  the  right  through  woods  and  fields 
and  roads,  over  hills  and  valleys,  bearing  to  the  left. 
After  going  perhaps  a  mile,  were  reached  the  Lynch- 
burg  road,  at  the  top  of  a  considerable  hill,  a  few  miles 
west  of  Appomattox  Court  House.  In  making  this 
move  there  were  some  lively  encounters  with  the  Fed 
eral  Cavalry,  more  particularly  on  our  left,  where 
General  Rosser  and  W.  H.  F.  Lee  were  fighting.  .  .  . 
Almost  simultaneously  with  the  arrival  of  the  Second 
Virginia  Cavalry  in  the  road,  certainly  the  last  to  reach 
it,  as  we  neared  the  rear  of  the  enemy,  a  small  force 
of  their  cavalry  came  charging  up  the  road,  and  attacked 
us  in  the  rear.  We  wheeled  about  and  a  squadron  or 
two  was  ordered  to  charge  them,  which  was  done  in 
good  style,  the  enemy  retreating  in  the  direction  of 
the  Court  House.  Holding  our  position  on  the  hill, 
the  enemy  came  our  way  the  second  time,  and  were 
again  driven  back. 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE    DRAMA  275 

"This  was  done  handsomely  by  the  First  Maryland 
Cavalry,  under  the  following  circumstances:  When  the 
enemy,  in  full  charge,  was  seen  coming  at  them,  not  over 
a  hundred  yards  distant,  Capt.  W.  J.  Raisin,  command 
ing  the  first  squadron  and  riding  with  Colonel  Dorsey, 
at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  remarked,  '  Colonel,  we 
must  charge  them,  it  is  the  only  chance,'  and  the 
words  had  not  left  his  lips  when  Dorsey,  who  had  per 
ceived  the  necessity,  gave  the  command,  'Draw  sabre! 
Gallop!  Charge!'  And  this  little  band  of  Mary- 
landers  hurled  themselves  against  the  heavy  column 
of  the  enemy  and  drove  them  back.  This  was  the  last 
blow  struck  by  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia." 

"  This  was  the  last  action  in  which  the  Second  Vir 
ginia  Cavalry  had  a  part,  and  with  the  charge  of  the 
First  Maryland  Cavalry  may  be  said  to  have  been  the 
last  effort  made  by  any  portion  of  Lee's  army  in  behalf 
of  the  Southern  cause." 

General  Munford  held  that  as  his  command  was 
outside  of  the  lines,  he  did  not  consider  that  he  was 
included  in  the  terms  of  the  surrender,  and  hence  he  felt 
at  liberty  to  withdraw  his  skirmishers,  having  already 
gained  the  Lynchburg  road.  Accordingly,  he  marched 
the  regiment  to  Lynchburg  and  there  it  was  disbanded, 
on  the  very  spot  where  it  had  been  organized  in  1861, 
-disbanded  " subject  to  reassemble  for  the  contin 
uance  of  the  struggle."  It  had  made  for  itself  an  hon 
orable  record;  it  left  June  1,  1861,  with  700  men  upon 
it  rolls,  and  it  is  shown  that  7  of  its  captains  were  killed 
and  10  wounded;  10  of  its  lieutenants  were  killed  and 
22  wounded;  2  sergeants  were  killed;  1  adjutant  killed; 
138  men  were  killed;  362  wounded;  89  died  in  service; 
75  were  captured;  making  an  aggregate  accounted 


276  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

for  654.  I  may  here  mention  that  Lieut.-Col.  Gary 
Breckinridge  received  five  sabre  cuts  in  one  engage 
ment.  Its  blood  was  spilt  from  the  first  Manassas  to 
Appomattox.  About  ten  days  later  General  Munford 
received  a  communication  from  the  President  of  the 
Confederate  States,  ordering  him  to  join  the  army  of 
Gen.  Joe  Johnston,  and  there  lies  before  me  an  order 
dated  Headquarters  Munford's  Cavalry  Brigade,  April 
21, 1865,  in  which  General  Munford  makes  a  stirring  ap 
peal  to  his  soldiers  to  rally  once  more  to  his  banner  and 
continue  the  struggle.  This  order  concludes  as  follows: 

"We  have  still  a  country,  a  flag,  an  army,  and  a  govern 
ment.  Then  to  horse!  A  circular  will  be  sent  to  each 
of  your  officers,  designating  the  time  and  place  of  assembly. 
Hold  yourselves  in  instant  readiness,  and  bring  all  true 
men  with  you  from  this  command  who  will  go,  and  let  us 
who  struck  the  last  blow,  as  a  part  of  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia,  strike  the  first  with  that  victorious  army  which, 
by  the  blessing  of  our  gracious  God,  will  yet  come  to  redeem 
her  hallowed  soil. 

"Tnos.  T.  MUNFORD,  Brigadier-general 

"  Commanding  Division." 

A  few  days  after  the  issuance  of  this  order  General 
Munford  learned  that  Gen.  Joe  Johnston  was  negotiat 
ing  to  surrender  his  army.  This  put  an  end  to  his 
project,  designated  in  the  said  general  order.  In  the 
meantime,  however,  it  had  reached  Colonel  Dorsey  of 
the  First  Maryland  Cavalry  and  that  officer  immedi 
ately  rallied  his  command  and  was  proceeding  to  join 
General  Munford,  but  he,  on  the  28th  of  April,  wrote 
Colonel  Dorsey,  informing  him  of  General  Johnston's 
approaching  surrender  and  of  the  abandonment  of  the 
design. 


CONCLUSION 

SOME  four  or  five  years  ago,  while  attending  a 
reunion  of  Confederate  veterans  at  Nashville,  I 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Colonel  -  — ,  who  told 
me  the  following  story. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  1861,  he,  then  a  very 
young  man  and  resident  in  Tennessee,  went  to  his 
father  and  said,  "  Father,  I  have  thought  over  the  issue 
between  the  North  and  the  South  and  have  decided 
that  it  is  my  duty  to  join  the  Southern  Army."  To 
which  his  father,  also  a  Tennesseean,  replied,  "All 
right,  my  son,  you  must  of  course  act  as  your  conscience 
dictates,  but  I  must  tell  you  that  I  also  have  earnestly 
reflected  on  the  situation  and  have  decided  that  it  is 
my  duty  to  join  the  Union  Army."  And  so  they  parted 
in  all  kindness,  to  serve  in  the  opposing  armies. 

Now  it  happened  that  in  one  of  the  battles  in  the 
southwest  the  father  and  the  son,  each  in  command 
of  a  regiment,  the  one  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes, 
the  other  under  the  Stars  and  Bars,  met  in  deadly 
conflict,  neither  being  aware  of  the  identity  of  his 
antagonist;  and  the  son  took  the  father  prisoner,  not 
knowing  it  was  his  father.  This  was  a  remarkable 
experience  not  often  paralleled,  but  what  was  more 
remarkable  still  was  the  statement  made  to  me  by 
Colonel  -  -  that  the  fact  that  he  and  his  father 
were  fighting  on  opposite  sides  in  that  tremendous 

277 


278  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

conflict  made  no  difference  in  their  feelings  toward 
each  other.  So  absolutely  did  father  and  son  respect 
each  other's  conviction  of  duty  that  their  mutual  affec 
tion  remained  unchanged. 

In  bringing  to  a  close  my  fragmentary  record  of 
experiences  and  observations  as  a  Confederate  soldier, 
I  would  like  to  say  that  I  hope  nothing  I  have  written 
will  seem  inconsistent  with  the  respect  I  feel  for  the 
honest  convictions  of  the  brave  men  who  fought  against 
the  South,  under  the  same  constraint  of  duty  as  that 
which  actuated  us  in  the  opposite  ranks.  Good  and 
true  men  reached  different  conclusions  in  that  supreme 
issue  presented  in  1861.  It  was  inevitable.  As  Mr. 
Charles  Francis  Adams  has  said,  "In  case  of  direct 
and  insoluble  issue  between  sovereign  State  and  sover 
eign  Nation,  every  man  was  not  only  free  to  decide, 
but  had  to  decide  the  question  of  ultimate  allegiance 
for  himself;  and  whichever  way  he  decided  he  was 
right/'  Brave  men  respect  each  other.  Men  who 
draw  the  sword  for  conscience'  sake  should,  and  will, 
sooner  or  later,  recognize  the  equal  right  of  their  antag 
onists  who  are  also  in  arms  for  conscience'  sake. 

This  was  finely  expressed  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago 
by  a  brave  Union  soldier,  now  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court.1 

"We  believed  that  it  was  most  desirable  that  the 
North  should  win;  we  believed  in  the  principle  that 
the  Union  is  indissoluble;  but  we  equally  believed  that 
those  who  stood  against  us  held  just  as  sacred  convic 
tions  that  were  the  opposite  of  ours,  and  we  respected 
them,  as  every  man  with  a  heart  must  respect  those 
who  gave  all  for  their  belief." 

1  Justice  O.  W.  Holmes. 


CONCLUSION  279 

But  that  same  profound  respect  for  the  convic 
tions  which  conscience  enforces  makes  it  impossible 
for  us  who  stood  for  the  South  in  1861  to  profess  any 
repentance,  or  any  regret,  for  the  course  we  then  took. 
A  man  cannot  repent  of  an  act  done  in  the  fear  of  God 
and  under  the  behest  of  conscience.  We  did  what  we 
believed  in  our  hearts  was  right.  We  gave  all  for 
our  belief.  We  cannot  regret  obeying  the  most  solemn 
and  sacred  dictates  of  duty  as  we  saw  it. 

We  would  not  do  aught  to  perpetuate  the  angry 
passions  of  the  Civil  War,  or  to  foster  any  feeling  of 
hostility  to  our  fellow  citizens  of  other  parts  of  the 
Union.  But  we  must  forevermore  do  honor  to  our 
heroic  dead.  We  must  forevermore  cherish  the  sacred 
memories  of  those  four  terrible  but  glorious  years  of 
unequal  strife.  We  must  forevermore  consecrate  in 
our  hearts  our  old  battle  flag  of  the  Southern  Cross 
—  not  now  as  a  political  symbol,  but  as  the  conse 
crated  emblem  of  an  heroic  epoch.  The  people  that 
forgets  its  heroic  dead  is  already  dying  at  the  heart, 
and  we  believe  we  shall  be  truer  and  better  citizens 
of  the  United  States  if  we  are  true  to  our  past. 

The  Southern  people  have  already  shown  the  world 
how  the  defeats  of  war  may  be  turned  into  the  victories 
of  peace.  They  have  given  mankind  an  example  of 
how  a  brave  and  proud  race  may  sustain  disaster,  and 
endure  long  years  of  humiliation,  yet  rise  again  to  power 
and  glory. 

I  have  said  elsewhere  two  things  of  the  Confederate 
soldier  which  I  wish  to  repeat  here. 

The  first  is  that  the  supreme  issue  in  his  mind  in 
all  that  great  struggle  was  not,  as  is  generally  supposed, 
the  dissolution  of  the  Union.  No,  the  dissolution  of 


280  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

the  Union  was  not  what  the  Confederate  soldier  had 
chiefly  at  heart.  Nor  was  the  establishment  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy  what  he  had  chiefly  at  heart. 
Both  the  one  and  the  other  were  secondary  to  the 
preservation  of  the  supreme  and  sacred  right  of  self- 
government.  They  were  means  to  the  end,  not  the 
end  itself. 

And  the  second  thing  I  wish  to  say  is  that  I  do  not 
believe  the  valor  and  devotion  of  the  armies  of  the 
South  were  so  lavishly  poured  out  in  vain.  By  their 
all-sacrificing  patriotism  they  arraigned  before  the 
world  the  usurpation  of  powers  and  functions  which 
by  the  Constitution  were  reserved  to  the  States  —  and 
their  arraignment  has  not  been  in  vain.  Silently,  as 
the  years  have  rolled  by  since  Appomattox,  its  accus 
ing  voice  has  been  heard,  and  its  protest  has  become 
effective,  until  to-day  the  rights  of  the  States  —  of 
all  the  States  —  are  recognized  as  inviolate  by  both 
the  executive,  the  legislative,  and  the  judicial  depart 
ments  of  the  Government.  And  therefore  I  hold  that 
just  as  surely  as  the  enemies  of  the  North  saved  the 
Union  from  dissolution,  so  surely  did  the  armies  of  the 
South  save  the  rights  of  the  States  within  the  Union. 
So  that,  if  it  is  due  to  the  valor  of  the  Northern  Army 
and  Navy  that  we  have  to-day  an  indissoluble  Union, 
it  is  equally  due  to  the  valor  of  the  Confederate  soldiers 
and  sailors  that  that  indissoluble  Union  is  composed 
of  indestructible  States. 

Thus  victor  and  vanquished  will  both  be  crowned 
with  the  laurel  of  victory  by  the  future  historian. 

I  will  add  one  other  conviction  which  I  deeply 
cherish.  The  Confederate  soldier  has  left  a  legacy  of 
valor  and  of  liberty  to  his  fellow  countrymen,  North 


CONCLUSION  281 

and  South,  which  is  destined  to  be  recognized  as  a  part 
of  the  national  inheritance. 

A  recent  historian  of  "The  Greatness  and  Decline  of 
Rome"  1  has  remarked  that  the  whole  course  of  ancient 
history  proves  the  tenacity  and  depth  of  republican 
ideas  and  traditions  in  the  little  Greek  or  Italian  re 
publics,  and  the  difficulty  of  abolishing  their  liberties. 
He  tells  us  that  the  republicanism  of  ancient  Rome 
which  the  empire  seemed  to  crush  and  destroy  has  still 
been  mighty  in  modern  Europe.  It  has  inspired  Europe 
to  fight  for  her  great  ideals  of  liberty,  without  which 
European  history  would  have  been  a  counterpart  of 
Oriental  history,  a  continuous  succession  of  despotisms, 
rising  one  upon  the  ruins  of  another. 

It  is  thus  that  I  believe  the  heroic  spirit  of  liberty 
which  animated  the  soldiers  of  the  Confederacy,  though 
it  seemed  to  be  crushed  and  destroyed  at  Appomattox, 
will  in  generations  to  come  inspire  Americans  to  fight 
for  the  high  ideals  of  freedom  and  self-government 
which  the  men  of  the  North  and  the  men  of  the  South 
have  alike  inherited  from  their  forefathers.  It  will 
be  recognized  that  the  men  who  followed  the  battle 
flags  of  the  Confederacy  at  such  cost  of  hardship  and 
trial  and  peril  —  exhibiting  a  devotion,  a  fortitude,  a 
valor,  and  a  self-sacrifice  never  surpassed  —  were 
animated  by  motives  as  pure  and  unselfish  as  ever 
stirred  the  hearts  and  nerved  the  arms  of  patriots. 
And  so  it  will  come  to  pass  that  the  glorious  valor  and 
steadfast  devotion  to  liberty  which  characterized  the 
Confederate  soldier  will  be  acknowledged  as  a  part  of 
the  national  inheritance,  to  be  treasured  and  guarded 
by  every  American  who  loves  his  country  and  values 

1  Professor  Ferrero. 


282  A  SOLDIER'S  RECOLLECTIONS 

the  traditions  of  her  glory.  The  fact  that  he  did  not 
succeed  in  his  enterprise  will  abate  no  jot  or  tittle  from 
the  honor  paid  to  his  memory;  for  I  dare  to  believe 
that  the  American  of  the  future  will  recognize  the 
eternal  truth  that  it  is  not  success  which  ennobles, 
but  duty  well  done  —  manhood  illustriously  displayed, 
whether  in  victory  or  defeat. 

Thus  the  fame  of  the  Confederate  soldier  will  shine 
with  imperishable  lustre: 

"Immota  manet,  saecula  vincit." 


APPENDIX 

A.  ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE. 

B.  GEN.  J.  E.  B.  STUART  IN  THE  GETTYSBURG  CAMPAIGN 

A  REPLY  TO  COL.  J.  S.  MOSBY. 


THE  MOTIVES  AND  AIMS 

OF 

THE  SOLDIERS  OF  THE  SOUTH 
IN  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

AN  ORATION 

DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE  UNITED  CONFEDERATE 

VETERANS  AT  THEIR  FOURTEENTH  ANNUAL 

REUNION  AT  NASHVILLE,   TENN. 

JUNE   14,   1904 


BY 
RANDOLPH  HARRISON  McKIM,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L. 

RECTOR  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  THE  EPIPHANY,  WASHINGTON,  D.G. 


Ti's  yap  77  TCOV  iroitlv  8vra/>io/a>v  rj  rail/  Xeyctv  eTriora/xei/wv  ov  irovrjcru 
KOL  <j>LXo<rocf>r](Tei  /3ovAo/aevos  a/xa  re  T^S  avrov  Stavoias  Kat  r^s 
eis  aTravra  TOV  ^povbv  KaraAtTreTv.  —  Isocrates 


ORIGINALLY  PUBLISHED 
BY  ORDER  OF  THE  UNITED  CONFEDERATE  VETERANS 


THE  REV.  RANDOLPH  H.  Me  KIM,  D.D.  1904 


ORATION 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  Comrades  and  Fellow-citizens: 

It  is  with  deep  emotion  that  I  rise  to  address  you  to-day. 
When  I  look  over  this  vast  concourse  of  the  brave  men  and 
the  noble  women  of  the  South  —  representing  every  one 
of  the  eleven  sovereign  States  once  associated  in  the  South 
ern  Confederacy  —  and  when  I  look  into  the  faces  of  the 
veteran  survivors  of  that  incomparable  army  that  fought 
with  such  magnificent  valor  and  constancy  for  four  long  years 
under  those  tattered  battle  flags,  now  furled  forever,  I  am 
overwhelmed  at  once  by  the  dignity  and  the  difficulty  of 
the  task  assigned  me.  There  is  such  a  vast  disproportion 
between  the  powers  which  the  occasion  demands  and  those 
which  I  possess,  that  I  should  not  dare  to  essay  the  task  but 
for  my  confidence  in  your  generosity  and  forbearance  to 
a  speaker  who  at  least  can  say:  "I  too  loved  the  Lost  Cause 
and  marched  and  fought  under  the  banner  of  the  Southern 
Cross." 

There  are  two  unique  features  which  must  arrest  the 
attention  of  every  observer  of  this  scene  to-day.  The  first 
is  the  fact  that  all  this  pageantry,  all  this  enthusiasm,  is  a 
tribute  to  a  lost  cause.  The  second  is  the  fact  that  we 
assemble  under  the  victorious  banner  to  pay  our  reverend 
homage  to  the  conquered  one. 

A  stranger  coming  into  our  midst  and  observing  our  pro 
ceedings  might  suppose  that  we  were  met  here  to  celebrate 
the  foundation  of  a  State,  or  to  acclaim  the  triumph  of  armies, 
or  to  exult  in  the  victory  of  a  great  cause.  But  no!  Nine 
and  thirty  years  ago  our  new  republic  sank  to  rise  no  more; 
our  armies  were  defeated;  our  banner  went  down  in  blood! 

287 


288  APPENDIX 

What  then?  Are  we  here  to  indulge  in  vain  regrets,  to  lament 
over  our  defeat,  or  to  conspire  for  the  reestablishment  of 
our  fallen  cause?  No!  The  love  and  loyalty  which  we 
give  to  the  Lost  Cause,  and  to  the  defeated  banner,  is  a 
demonstration  of  the  deep  hold  that  cause  had  upon  the 
hearts  of  the  Southern  people,  and  of  the  absolute  sincerity 
and  the  complete  devotion  with  which  they  supported  it; 
but  it  is  no  evidence  of  unmanly  and  fruitless  repining  over 
defeat,  nor  of  any  lurking  disloyalty  to  the  Union,  in  which 
now,  thank  God,  the  Southern  States  have  equal  rights 
and  privileges  with  all  the  other  States  of  our  broad  land. 
We  saw  our  banner  go  down,  with  breaking  hearts.  When 
our  idolized  leader  sheathed  his  sword  at  Appomattox  the 
world  grew  dark  to  us.  We  felt  as  if  the  sun  had  set  in  blood 
to  rise  no  more.  It  was  as  if  the  foundations  of  the  earth 
were  sinking  beneath  our  feet.  But  that  same  stainless 
hero  whom  we  had  followed  with  unquestioning  devotion 
taught  us  not  to  despair.  He  told  us  it  was  the  part  of 
brave  men  to  accept  defeat  without  repining.  "Human 
virtue,"  he  said,  "should  be  equal  to  human  calamity." 
He  pointed  upward  to  the  star  of  duty,  and  bade  us  follow  it 
as  bravely  in  peace  as  we  had  followed  it  in  war.  Hence 
forth  it  should  be  our  consecrated  task,  by  the  help  of  God, 
to  rebuild  the  fallen  walls  of  our  prosperity. 

And  so  we  accepted  the  result  of  the  war  in  good  faith. 
We  abide  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword.  We  subscribe  as 
sincerely  as  the  men  who  fought  against  us  to  the  senti 
ment:  "One  Flag,  one  Country,  one  Constitution,  one 
Destiny."  This  is  now  for  us  an  indissoluble  Union  of  inde 
structible  States.  We  are  loyal  to  that  starry  banner.  We 
remember  that  it  was  baptized  with  Southern  blood  when 
our  forefathers  first  unfurled  it  to  the  breeze.  We  remember 
that  it  was  a  Southern  poet,  Francis  Scott  Key,  who  immor 
talized  it  in  the  "Star  Spangled  Banner."  We  remember 
that  it  was  the  genius  of  a  Southern  soldier  and  statesman, 
George  Washington,  that  finally  established  it  in  triumph. 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  289 

Southern  blood  has  again  flowed  in  its  defence  in  the  Spanish 
war,  and  should  occasion  require,  we  pledge  our  lives  and 
our  sacred  honor  to  defend  it  against  foreign  aggression,  as 
bravely  as  will  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans.  And  yet, 
to-day,  while  that  banner  of  the  Union  floats  over  us,  we 
bring  the  offering  of  our  love  and  loyalty  to  the  memory  of 
the  flag  of  the  Southern  Confederacy!  Strange  as  it  may 
seem  to  one  who  does  not  understand  our  people;  incon 
sistent  and  incomprehensible  as  it  may  appear;  we  salute 
yonder  flag  —  the  banner  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes  —  as  the 
symbol  of  our  reunited  country,  at  the  same  moment  that 
we  come  together  to  do  homage  to  the  memory  of  the  Stars 
and  Bars.  There  is  in  our  hearts  a  double  loyalty  to-day; 
a  loyalty  to  the  present,  and  a  loyalty  to  the  dear,  dead 
past.  We  still  love  our  old  battle  flag  with  the  Southern 
cross  upon  its  fiery  folds!  We  have  wrapped  it  round  our 
hearts!  We  have  enshrined  it  in  the  sacred  ark  of  our 
love;  and  we  will  honor  it  and  cherish  it  evermore, — not 
now  as  a  political  symbol,  but  as  the  consecrated  emblem 
of  an  heroic  epoch;  as  the  sacred  memento  of  a  day  that 
is  dead;  as  the  embodiment  of  memories  that  will  be  tender 
and  holy  as  long  as  life  shall  last. 

Let  not  our  fellow-countrymen  of  the  North  mistake  the 
spirit  of  this  great  occasion.  If  Daniel  Webster  could  say 
that  the  Bunker  Hill  monument  was  not  erected  "to  per 
petuate  hostility  to  Great  Britain,"  much  more  can  we 
say  that  the  monuments  we  have  erected,  and  will  yet 
erect,  in  our  Southland,  to  the  memory  of  our  dead  heroes, 
are  not  intended  to  perpetuate  the  angry  passions  of  the 
Civil  War,  or  to  foster  or  keep  alive  any  feeling  of  hostility 
to  our  brethren  of  other  parts  of  the  Union.  No;  but  these 
monuments  are  erected,  and  these  great  assemblages  of  our 
surviving  veterans  are  held,  in  simple  loyalty  to  the  best 
and  purest  dictates  of  the  human  heart.  The  people  that 
forgets  its  heroic  dead  is  already  dying  at  the  heart;  and  we 
believe  it  will  make  for  the  strength  and  the  glory  of  the 


290  APPENDIX 

United  States  if  the  sentiments  that  animate  us  to-day 
shall  be  perpetuated,  generation  after  generation.  Yes, 
we  honor,  and  we  bid  our  children  honor,  the  loyalty  to 
duty —  to  conscience  —  to  fatherland  —  that  inspired  the 
men  of  '61,  and  it  is  our  prayer  and  our  hope  that,  as  the  years 
and  the  generations  pass,  the  rising  and  the  setting  sun,  the 
moon  and  the  stars,  winter  and  summer,  spring  and  autumn, 
will  see  the  people  of  the  South  loyal  to  the  memories  of  those 
four  terrible  but  glorious  years  of  strife;  loyally  worshipping 
at  the  shrine  of  the  splendid  manhood  of  our  heroic  citizen 
soldiers,  and  the  even  more  splendid  womanhood,  whose 
fortitude  and  whose  endurance  have  challenged  the  admira 
tion  of  the  world.  Then,  when  the  united  republic,  in  years 
to  come,  shall  call,  "To  arms!"  our  children,  and  our  chil 
dren's  children,  will  rally  to  the  call,  and,  emulating  the 
fidelity  and  the  supreme  devotion  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Con 
federacy,  will  gird  the  Stars  and  Stripes  with  an  impene 
trable  rampart  of  steel. 

But  it  is  not  the  dead  alone  whom  we  honor  here  to-day. 
We  hail  the  presence  of  the  survivors  of  that  tremendous 
conflict.  Veterans  of  more  than  forty  years!  you  have 
come  from  all  over  the  South  —  from  the  Patapsco  and  the 
Potomac,  the  James  and  the  Rappahannock,  the  Cumber 
land  and  the  Tennessee,  the  Mississippi  and  the  Rio  Grande 
—  from  the  sea-shore  —  from  the  Gulf  —  from  the  Blue 
Ridge  and  the  Alleghanies,  and  some  of  you  even  from  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  —  to  pay  your  tribute  to  the  dead 
cause  and  the  dead  heroes  who  laid  down  their  lives  for  it. 
May  I,  on  behalf  of  this  great  assembly  —  on  behalf  of  the 
whole  South  —  offer  you  a  tribute  of  respect  and  venera 
tion  to-day?  We  hail  you  as  the  honored  survivors  of  a 
great  epoch  and  a  glorious  struggle.  We  welcome  you  as 
the  men  whom,  above  all  others,  the  South  delights  to 
honor. 

It  is  indeed  a  matter  of  course  that  we,  your  comrades 
and  your  fellow  Southrons,  should  honor  you.  But  we  are 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE 

not  alone.  Your  brave  antagonists  of  the  Northern 
begin  at  last  to  recognize  the  purity  of  your  motives,  as  they 
have  always  recognized  the  splendor  of  your  valor.  The 
dispassionate  historian,  even  though  his  sympathy  is  given 
to  the  North,  no  longer  denies  the  sincerity  of  your  belief 
in  the  sacredness  of  your  cause.  The  world  itself  confesses 
the  honesty  of  your  purpose,  and  the  glory  of  your  gallant 
struggle  against  superior  numbers  and  resources.  Most 
of  you  that  survive  have  no  insignia  of  rank,  no  title  of  dis 
tinction.  You  were  private  soldiers, —  but  I  see  round  your 
brows  the  aureole  of  a  soldier's  glory.  You  are  transfigured 
by  the  battles  you  have  fought :  Nashville,  Franklin,  Perry- 
ville,  Murfreesboro,  Shiloh,  Chickamauga,  in  the  West; 
and  Manassas,  Seven  Pines,  Mechanicsville,  Sharpsburg, 
Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  the  Wilder 
ness,  and  Cold  Harbor,  in  the  East. 

But  you  have  done  more  than  bare  your  breast  to  the 
foeman's  steel.  You  have  shown  to  the  world  how  the 
defeats  of  war  may  be  turned  into  the  victories  of  peace. 
You  have  taught  mankind  how  a  proud  race  may  sustain 
disaster  and  yet  survive  and  win  the  applause  of  the  world. 
In  those  terrible  years  of  Reconstruction  —  how  much  more 
bitter  than  the  four  years  of  war !  —  you  splendidly  ex 
emplified  the  sentiment, 

"Mergas  prof  undo,  pulchrior  exilit!" 

Out  of  the  depths  of  the  bitter  flood  of  Reconstruction  the 
South  emerged,  through  your  fortitude,  through  your 
patience,  through  your  courage,  more  beautiful  than  ever. 
For  all  this  your  people  honor  you  in  your  old  age.  They 
cherish  the  memory  of  your  deeds,  and  will  hand  it  down  a 
priceless  heirloom  to  their  children's  children.  You  are  not 
pensioners  on  the  bounty  of  the  Union,  thank  God!  Your 
manhood  is  not  sapped  by  eating  the  bread  of  dependence. 
You  have  faced  poverty  as  bravely  as  you  faced  the  cannon's 
mouth,  and  so  I  salute  you  as  the  aristocracy  of  the  South! 


292  APPENDIX 

Your  deeds  have  carved  for  you  a  place  in  the  temple  of  her 
fame.  They  will  not  be  forgotten  —  the  world  will  not  for 
get  them.  Your  campaigns  are  studied  to-day  in  the  mili 
tary  schools  of  Europe;  yes,  and  at  West  Point,  itself. 

But,  alas!  your  ranks  are  thinned.  Each  year  the  artil 
lery  of  the  great  destroyer  of  human  life  mows  down  hundreds 
of  the  men  in  gray.  One  after  another  of  our  great  captains 
has  said  "Adsum,"  as  the  angel  of  God  has  called  the  roll 
beyond  the  river.  Since  you  last  met,  two  of  those  illustri 
ous  leaders  have  passed  from  our  sight  —  Longstreet,  the 
brave,  and  (Cordon,  the  superb  —  Gordon,  whose  white 
plume,  like  the  plume  of  Henry  of  Navarre,  was  ever  in  the 
forefront  of  the  charging  line  —  Gordon,  of  whom  we  may 
say  —  and  what  could  be  higheT~pfaise?  —  that  he  was 
worthy  to  be  the  lieutenant  of  Lee,  and  the  successor  of 
Stonewall  Jackson  in  the  confidence  and  affection  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  —  Gordon,  who,  at  Appomattox, 
taught  us  not  to  lose  faith  in  God,  and  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century  before  his  death  taught  us  to  have  faith  in  our  fellow- 
citizens  of  the  North.  As  we  think  of  those  superb  leaders, 
now  gone  from  our  gaze,  we  are  tempted  to  say:  Alas!  the~ 
stars  by  which  we  have  guided  our  course  have  set,  one  by 
one,  beneath  the  horizon.  But  no!  Let  us  rather  say  that 
death  has  only  placed  them  higher  in  the  firmament,  as 
fixed  stars,  whose  deathless  light  shall  never  fail  us  in  the 
generations  to  come.  Dead?  Are  these  our  heroes  dead? 
No,  they  yet  live  as  live  the  heroes  of  old;  as  Leonidas  lives 
in  the  firmament  of  patriotism ;  as  Shakespeare  lives  in  the 
firmament  of  intellect;  as  Newton  and  Bacon  live  in  the  realm 
of  science;  as  Jefferson  and  Madison  and  Marshall  live  in 
the  realm  of  statesmanship;  as  Washington  lives  in  the 
realm  of  pure  and  steadfast  love  of  liberty.  Veterans, 
when  I  say  this  I  am  not  giving  utterance  to  the  partial 
and  prejudiced  view  of  a  Southern  soldier;  I  am  but  echo 
ing  the  judgment  of  the  world. 

The  ablest  military  critic  in  the  British  army  in  this  gen- 


\ 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  293 

eration  has  placed  Lee  and  Stonewall  Jackson  in  the  same 
group  with  Washington  and  Wellington  and  Marlborough, 
the  five  greatest  generals,  in  his  opinion,  of  the  English- 
speaking  race;  and  the  President  of  the  United  States,  Mr. 
Roosevelt,  has  said  in  his  "Life  of  Thomas  H.  Benton":  "The 
world  has  never  seen  better  soldiers  than  those  who  followed 
Lee;  and  their  leader  will  undoubtedly  rank,  as  without 
any  exception,  the  very  greatest  of  all  the  great  captains 
that  the  English-speaking  peoples  have  brought  forth;  and 
this,  although  the  last  and  chief  of  his  antagonists,  may  him 
self  claim  to  stand  as  the  full  equal  of  Wellington  and  Marl- 
borough."  As  to  the  rank  and  file,  General  Hooker  of  the 
Union  Army  has  said  that  "for  steadiness  and  efficiency " 
Lee's  army  was  unsurpassed  in  ancient  or  modern  times, 
—  "We  have  not  been  able  to  rival  it."  And  Gen.  Chas. 
A.  Whittier  of  Massachusetts  has  said,  "The  Army  of  North 
ern  Virginia  will  deservedly  rank  as  the  best  army  which 
has  existed  in  this  continent,  suffering  privations  unknown 
to  its  opponent.  The  North  sent  no  such  army  to  the  field." 
It  is,  then,  not  the  extravagance  of  hyperbole,  but  the 
sober  utterance  of  truth,  to  say  that  these  heroic  leaders 
and  the  heroic  men  who  followed  them  —  sublime  in  their 
devotion  to  duty;  magnificently  unregardful  of  the  possi 
bility  of  waging  successful  war  against  such  vast  odds  of  num 
bers  and  resources  —  have  raised  a  monument  more  lasting 
than  brass  or  marble;  higher  and  grander  than  the  great 
pyramid  of  Egypt;  more  splendid  than  the  tomb  of  Napo 
leon  at  the  Hotel  des  Invalides;  more  sublime  than  West 
minster  Abbey  itself  —  a  monument  which  will  rivet  the 
gaze  of  generations  yet  unborn  —  a  monument  at  whose  feet 
mankind  will  bow  in  reverence  so  long  as  freedom  survives 
on  earth.  It  is  a  shaft  not  made  with  hands  —  a  spiritual 
obelisk  —  on  which  all  men  will  read:  "Sacred  to  the  memory 
of  men  who  laid  down  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their 
sacred  honor  in  loyal  obedience  to  the  call  of  duty  as  they 
understood  it." 


294  APPENDIX 

Comrades,  standing  here  at  the  foot  of  that  unseen  column, 
reared  by  the  valor  and  the  virtue  of  the  citizen  soldiers 
of  the  Armies  of  the  South,  I  feel  that  a  duty  is  laid  upon 
me,  which  I  may  not  refuse  to  perform.  From  the  hills  and 
valleys  of  more  than  a  thousand  battle  fields,  where  sleep 
the  silent  battalions  in  gray,  there  rises  to  my  ear  a  solemn 
voice  of  command  which  I  dare  not  disobey.  It  bids  me 
vindicate  to  the  men  of  this  generation  the  course  which  the 
men  of  the  South  followed  in  the  crisis  of  1861.  It  is  not 
enough  that  their  valor  is  recognized.  It  is  not  enough  that 
their  honesty  is  confessed.  We  ask  of  our  Northern  breth 
ren  —  we  ask  of  the  world  —  a  recognition  of  their  patriot 
ism  and  their  love  of  liberty.  We  cannot  be  silent  as  long 
as  any  aspersion  is  cast  by  the  pen  of  the  historian,  or  by 
the  tongue  of  the  orator,  upon  their  patriotic  motives,  or 
upon  the  loftiness  of  the  object  they  had  in  view  through 
all  that  tremendous  conflict.  We  make  no  half-hearted 
apology  for  their  act.  It  is  justice  for  which  we  plead,  not 
charity. 

The  view  of  the  origin  and  character  of  the  course  of 
action  followed  by  the  Southern  States  in  1861,  which  has 
so  widely  impressed  itself  upon  the  popular  mind,  may  be 
summed  up  in  four  propositions.  First,  that  the  Secession 
of  the  cotton  States  was  the  result  of  a  conspiracy  on  the 
part  of  a  few  of  their  leaders,  and  that  it  was  not  the  genuine 
expression  of  the  mind  of  the  people.  Second,  that  the  act 
whereby  the  Southern  States  withdrew  from  the  Union  was 
an  act  of  disloyalty  to  the  Constitution,  and  of  treason  to 
the  United  States  government.  Third,  that  the  people  of 
the  South  were  not  attached  to  the  Union  and  were  eager 
to  seize  upon  an  excuse  for  its  dissolution.  Fourth,  that 
the  South  plunged  into  a  desperate  war  for  the  purpose  of 
perpetuating  slavery,  and  made  that  institution  the  corner 
stone  of  the  new  confederacy  which  it  sought  to  establish. 

I  propose  briefly  to  examine  these  propositions,  and  shall 
endeavor  to  show  that  every  one  of  them,  when  scrutinized 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  295 

under  the  impartial  light  of  history,  must  be  pronounced 
essentially  erroneous.  Believing  that  they  are  erroneous 
and  that  they  do  grave  injustice  to  the  memory  and  the 
motives  of  the  men  of  the  South  in  that  great  crisis,  it  becomes 
a  sacred  duty  to  expose  the  unsubstantial  foundation  upon 
which  these  opinions  rest,  lest  our  children  and  our  children's 
children  should  misread  and  misunderstand  the  acts  of  their 
fathers. 

1.  I  need  not  spend  much  time  upon  the  first  of  these 
propositions.     The  evidence  at  the  disposal  of  the  historian 
is  conclusive  that  the  action  taken  by  the  cotton  States  in 
withdrawing  from  the  Union  had  the  support  of  an  over 
whelming  majority  of  the  people  of  those  States.     There 
was  no  conspiracy.     The  people  were  in  advance  of  their 
leaders.     The  most  recent,  and  perhaps  the  ablest,  of  the 
Northern  historians,  acknowledges  this,  and  says  that  had 
not  Davis,  Toombs,   and  Benjamin  led  in  Secession,  the 
people  would  have  chosen  other  leaders.     The  number  of 
unconditional  Union  men  in  the   seven   States   that   first 
seceded,  he  declares,  was  insignificant,  and  he  makes  the 
remarkable  admission    that    "had    the    North  thoroughly 
understood  the  problem,  had  it  known  that  the  people  of 
the  cotton  States  were    practically   unanimous  and    that 
the  action  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Tennessee  was 
backed  by  a  large  and   genuine   majority,  it   might  have 
refused  to   undertake  the  seemingly  unachievable  task."  l 
There  can  be  no  question,  then,  that  the  impartial  historian 
of  the  future  will  recognize  that,  whether  right  or  wrong, 
the  establishment  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  was  the 
result  of  a  popular  movement — was  the  act,  not  of  a  band  of 
conspirators,  but  of  the  whole  people,  with  a  unanimity 
never  surpassed  in  the  history  of  revolutions. 

2.  I  come  now  to  the  question  whether  the  act  of  the 
Southern  States  in  withdrawing  from  the  Union  was  an  act 

1  Rhodes'  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  404. 


>96  APPENDIX 

)f  disloyalty  to  the  Constitution  and  of  treason  to  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States.  This  once  burning  question 
may  now  be  discussed  without  heat.  It  is  no  longer  a  prac 
tical,  but  a  thoroughly  academic,  question.  The  right  of 
Secession,  if  it  ever  existed,  exists  no  longer.  The  Four 
teenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  has  changed  the 
character  of  our  political  fabric.  When  we  surrendered 
at  Appomattox,  the  right  of  Secession  was  surrendered 
forever. 

But  when  we  say  that  right  does  not  exist  to-day,  we  do 
not  acknowledge  that  it  did  not  exist  in  1861.  On  the  con 
trary,  we  maintain  that  it  did  exist,  and  that  those  who 
maintained  its  existence  had  upon  their  side,  logically  and 
historically,  the  overwhelming  weight  of  evidence.  Our 
late  antagonists,  who  are  now  our  brethren  and  our  fellow- 
citizens,  cannot  be  expected  to  agree  with  us  in  this  propo 
sition,  but  we  put  it  to  their  candor  and  their  sense  of 
justice  to  say  whether  the  South  had  not  as  good  a  right  to 
her  opinion  of  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution  as  the  North 
had  to  hers.  There  were  in  1860  two  interpretations  of  that 
instrument,  there  were  two  views  of  the  nature  of  the  gov 
ernment  which  was  established.  On  what  principle  and  by 
what  authority  can  it  be  claimed  that  the  view  taken  by  the 
South  was  certainly  wrong,  and  that  the  view  taken  by  the 
North  was  certainly  right?  Or,  waiving  the  question  which 
view  was  really  right,  we  ask  our  Northern  friends  to  tell 
us  why  the  South  was  not  justified  in  following  that  inter 
pretation  which  she  believed  to  be  the  true  one?  She 
had  helped  to  build  —  nay,  she  was  the  chief  builder  of  — 
the  fabric  of  the  Constitution.  A  Massachusetts  historian  l 
has  said  that,  of  the  five  great  men  who  molded  the  nation, 
four  were  men  of  the  South  —  Washington,  Jefferson,  Mad 
ison,  and  Marshall;  and  though  these  great  men  differed  in 
political  opinion,  yet  three,  at  least,  Washington,  Jefferson, 

1  Mr.  John  Fiske. 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  297 

and  Madison,  are  on  record  as  declaring  that  the  Consti 
tution  was  a  compact  between  the  States,  and  that  those 
thirteen  States  were  thirteen  independent  sovereignties.1 

1  Even  Marshall  might  be  appealed  to  in  support  of  that  view;  for 
in  the  debate  on  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  he  used  the  follow 
ing  language:  "Can  they  [the  Congress]  go  beyond  the  delegated  powers? 
If  they  were  to  make  a  law  not  warranted  by  any  of  the  powers  enu 
merated,  it  would  be  considered  by  the  judges  [of  the  Supreme  Court] 
as  an  infringement  of  the  Constitution  which  they  are  to  guard.  .  .  . 
They  would  declare  it  void."  —  Magruder's  "Life  of  Marshall,"  p.  82. 

Whatever  he  may  have  thought  of  the  nature  of  the  government 
at  a  later  period,  he  here  stands  forth  as  an  advocate  of  that  view 
which  confines  the  government  to  the  exercise  of  such  powers  as  are 
distinctly  "enumerated."  He  was  then  (1788)  in  his  thirty-third 
year. 

In  the  same  debate,  referring  to  Virginia's  right  to  resume  "her 
powers,  if  abused,"  he  said,  "it  is  a  maxim  that  those  who  give  may 
take  away.  It  is  the  people  that  give  power,  and  can  take  it  back. 
Who  shall  restrain  them?  They  are  the  masters  who  give  it."  (Elli 
ott's  "Debates,"  III,  p.  227,  quoted  in  "The  Republic  of  Republics," 
p.  109.)  Words  could  not  more  plainly  avow  the  right  of  the  people 
of  a  State  to  resume  the  powers  delegated  to  the  General  Government. 

As  to  Mr.  Madison's  opinion,  it  is  enough  to  quote  his  declaration 
that  in  adopting  the  Constitution  they  were  making  "a  government 
of  a  federal  nature,  consisting  of  many  co-equal  sovereignties." 

As  to  Washington's  views,  when  he  said  of  the  proposed  Union  under 
the  Constitution,  "Is  it  best  for  the  States  to  unite?"  he  clearly  recog 
nized  that  it  was  the  people  of  each  State  who  were  to  form  the  Union. 
The  United  States  would  be,  when  formed,  the  creature  of  the  States. 
He  often  speaks  of  the  accession  of  the  individual  States  to  the  proposed 
government,  which  he  calls  "the  New  Confederacy."  (Letter  to  Gen 
eral  Pinckney,  June  28,  1788.) 

This  new  Union  was  in  his  eyes  "a  compact."  In  a  letter  to  Madi 
son,  August  3,  1788,  he  uses  this  language:  "Till  the  States  begin  to  act 
under  the  new  compact."  (See  on  this  "The  Republic  of  Republics," 
pp.  222-230.) 

In  the  letter  written  by  Washington,  by  order  of  the  Convention, 
to  accompany  the  copy  of  the  proposed  Constitution  sent  to  each  State, 
the  following  passage  occurs: 

"It  is  obviously  impracticable  in  the  Federal  Government  of  these 
States  to  secure  all  rights  of  independent  sovereignty  to  each,  and  yet 
provide  for  the  interest  and  safety  of  all."  This  certainly  implies 


298  APPENDIX 

Let  the  young  men  of  the  New  South  remember  the  part 
the  Old  South  took  in  the  planting  and  training  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  civilization  on  these  western  shores. 

Our  New  England  brethren  have  been  so  diligent  in 
exploiting  the  voyage  of  the  Mayflower,  and  the  landing  of 
the  Pilgrims,  and  their  services  to  morality  and  civilization 
and  liberty  in  the  new  world,  that  they  seem  to  have  per 
suaded  themselves,  and  would  fain  persuade  the  world, 
that  American  liberty  is  a  plant  chiefly  of  New  England 
growth,  and  that  America  owes  its  ideas  of  political  inde 
pendence  and  representative  government,  and  its  reverence 
for  conscience,  to  the  sturdy  settlers  of  our  northeastern 
coasts.  Her  orators  and  her  poets,  year  after  year,  on  Fore 
fathers'  Day,  not  only  glorify  —  as  is  meet  —  the  deeds  of 
their  ancestors,  but  seem  to  put  forward  the  claim,  in  amaz 
ing  forgetfulness  of  history,  that  it  is  to  New  England  that 
the  great  republic  of  the  West  owes  the  genesis  of  its  free 
institutions,  the  inspirations  of  its  love  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  and  its  high  ideals  of  character.1 

It  is  then  not  amiss  to  remind  the  Southern  men  of  this 
generation  that  thirteen  years  before  the  Mayflower  landed 
her  pilgrims  at  Plymouth  Rock,  three  English  ships,  the 
Susan  Constant,  the  Godspeed,  and  the  Discovery,  came  to 
anchor  in  the  James  River,  Virginia;  and  that  the  vine  of 
English  civilization  and  English  liberty  was  first  planted, 
not  on  Plymouth  Rock,  in  1620,  but  at  Jamestown  Island, 
Virginia,  on  the  13th  of  May,  1607.  What  Webster  so  nobly 
said  of  the  Mayflower  may  be  as  truly  said  of  these  three 
ships  that  bore  the  first  Virginia  colony.  "The  stars  that 
guided  them  were  the  unobscured  constellations  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty.  Their  decks  were  the  altars  of  the  living 

that  each  State  entering  the  Union  was  an   independent  sovereign, 
which  surrendered  some  of  its  rights  for  the  good  of  all. 

1  Rev.  Dr.  Coyle  in  a  recent  sermon  before  the  Presbyterian  Gen 
eral  Assembly  refers  to  "the  Puritan  Conscience  which  put  rock  founda 
tions  under  this  Republic." 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  299 

God."  Let  me  also  recall  the  fact  that  on  July  30,  1619, 
eighteen  months  before  the  Pilgrims  set  foot  on  American 
soil,  the  vine  of  liberty  had  so  deeply  taken  root  in  the 
colony  of  Virginia  that  there  was  assembled  in  the  church 
at  Jamestown  a  free  representative  body  (the  first  on 
American  soil)  —  the  House  of  Burgesses  —  to  deliberate 
for  the  welfare  of  the  people.  There  also,  more  than  a  cen 
tury  before  the  Revolution,  when  Oliver  Cromwell's  fleet 
appeared  to  whip  the  rebellious  Old  Dominion  into  obedi 
ence,  Virginia  demanded  and  obtained  recognition  of  the 
principle  "No  taxation  without  representation"]  and  there, 
in  1676,  just  one  hundred  years  before  the  revolt  of  the 
Colonies,  that  remarkable  man,  Nathaniel  Bacon,  " soldier, 
orator,  leader,"  raised  the  standard  of  revolt  against  the 
oppressions  of  the  British  Crown. 

But  this  is  not  all.  That  spot  on  Jamestown  Island, 
marked  to-day  by  a  ruined,  ivy-clad,  church  tower  and  a 
group  of  moss-covered  tombstones,  is  the  sacred  ground 
whence  sprang  that  stream  of  genius  and  power  which  con 
tributed  most  to  the  achievement  of  American  independence, 
and  to  the  organization  of  American  liberty.  That  first 
colony,  planted  in  tidewater  Virginia,  was,  in  the  revolu 
tionary  period,  prolific  in  men  of  genius  and  force  and  in 
tense  devotion  to  liberty  never  perhaps  equalled,  in  modern 
times,  in  any  region  of  equal  size  and  of  so  small  a  popula 
tion.  This  is  acknowledged  by  careful  and  candid  histo 
rians  to-day,  among  whom  I  may  mention  Senator  Lodge,  of 
Massachusetts.  It  was  a  Southern  orator,  Patrick  Henry, 
who  gave  to  the  colonists  in  his  matchless  eloquence  the  slo 
gan,  "Give  me  liberty  or  give  me  death!"  It  was  a  South 
erner,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  who  brought  forward  in  the  first 
Congress  the  motion  that  "these  colonies  are,  and  by  right 
ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  states."  It  was  a  South 
erner,  Thomas  Jefferson,  who  drafted  the  immortal  Declara 
tion  of  Independence !  It  was  a  Southerner,  George  Mason, 
who  had  earlier  drawn  the  Virginia  Bill  of  Rights,  a  docu- 


300  APPENDIX 

ment  of  even  profounder  political  statesmanship,  and  which 
was  taken  by  Massachusetts  as  the  model  of  her  own  bill 
of  rights!  It  was  a  Southerner,  George  Washington,  who 
made  good  the  Declaration  of  Independence  by  his  sword 
after  seven  years  of  war!  It  was  a  Southerner,  James  Mad 
ison,  who  earned  the  title  " Father  of  the  Constitution"! 
It  was  a  Southerner,  John  Marshall,  who  became  its  most 
illustrious  interpreter ! 

I  ask,  then,  in  view  of  all  this,  whether  the  South  was  not 
justified  in  believing  that  the  views  of  constitutional  inter 
pretation  which  she  had  inherited  from  such  a  political  an 
cestry  were  not  the  true  views?  Let  our  Northern  friends 
answer,  in  all  candor,  whether  the  South,  with  such  an  hered 
ity  as  this,  with  such  glorious  memories  of  achievement, 
with  such  splendid  traditions  of  the  part  her  philosophers 
and  statesmen  and  soldiers  had  taken,  both  in  the  winning 
of  independence,  and  in  the  building  of  the  temple  of  the 
Constitution,  had  not  good  reason  for  saying,  "We  will 
follow  that  interpretation  of  the  Constitution,  which  we 
received  from  our  fathers  —  from  Jefferson  and  Madison 
and  Washington  —  rather  than  that  which  can  claim  no 
older,  or  greater,  names  than  those  of  Story  and  Webster." 
For  be  it  remembered  that  for  forty  years  after  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution,  there  was  approximate  unanimity  in 
its  interpretation  upon  the  great  issue  on  which  the  South 
took  her  stand  in  1861.  In  truth  Webster  and  Story  apos 
tatized  from  the  New  England  interpretation  of  the  Con 
stitution.  It  is  an  historical  fact  that  the  Constitution  was 
regarded  as  a  compact  between  the  States  for  a  long  period 
(not  less  than  forty  years  after  its  adoption)  by  the  leaders 
of  opinion  in  the  New  England  States.  Moreover,  in  the 
same  quarter,  the  sovereignty  of  the  States  was  broadly 
affirmed;  and  also  the  right  of  the  States  to  resume,  if  need 
be,  the  powers  granted  under  the  Constitution.1 

Samuel  Adams  objected  to  the  preamble  to  the  Constitution. 
"I  stumble  at  the  threshold,"  he  said;  "I  meet  a  National  Government 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  301 

These  statements  will  no  doubt  be  received  by  many  with 
surprise,  possibly  with  incredulity.  Permit  me  then  briefly 
to  justify  them  by  the  unquestionable  facts  of  history.  The 
impartial  historian  of  the  future  will  recall  the  fact  that 
the  first  threat  of  Secession  did  not  come  from  the  men  of  the 
South,  but  from  the  men  of  New  England.  Four  times 
before  the  Secession  of  South  Carolina,  the  threat  of  Seces 
sion  was  heard  in  the  North  — in  1802-03,  in  1811-12, 
in  1814,  and  in  1844-45.  The  first  time  it  came  from 
Col.  Timothy  Pickering,  of  Massachusetts,  a  friend  of  Wash 
ington  and  a  member  of  his  Cabinet;  the  second  time  from 
Josiah  Quincy,  another  distinguished  citizen  of  Massachu 
setts;  the  third  time  from  the  Hartford  Convention,  in  which 
five  States  were  represented;  the  fourth  time  from  the  Legis 
lature  of  Massachusetts.1 

instead  of  a  federal  Union  of  sovereign  States."  To  overcome  this, 
Governor  Hancock  brought  in  the  Tenth  Amendment  as  to  the  reserva 
tion  to  the  States  of  all  powers  not  expressly  delegated  to  the  General 
Government. 

The  Websterian  dogmas  had  then  no  advocates  in  New  England. 
Hancock,  Adams,  Parsons,  Bowdoin,  Ames,  were  all  for  State  sover 
eignty. 

1  The  statement  in  the  text  might  be  made  even  stronger,  as  the 
following  facts  will  show: 

January  14,  1811,  Josiah  Quincy,  of  Massachusetts,  in  the  debate 
on  the  admission  of  Louisiana,  declared  his  "  deliberate  opinion  that, 
if  the  bill  passes,  the  bonds  of  the  Union  are  virtually  dissolved;  .  .  . 
that  as  it  will  be  the  right  of  all  [the  Statesl,  so  it  will  be  the  duty  of 
some  to  prepare  definitely  for  a  separation  —  amicably,  if  they  can, 
violently,  if  they  must." 

In  1812  "pulpit,  press,  and  rostrum"  of  New  England  advocated 
Secession.  In  1839  ex-President  John  Quincy  Adams  urged  publicly 
that  it  would  be  better  for  the  States  to  "part  in  friendship  from  each 
other  than  to  be  held  together  by  constraint,"  and  declared  that  "the 
people  of  each  State  have  the  right  to  secede  from  the  confederated 
Union."  In  1842  Mr.  Adams  presented  a  petition  to  Congress,  from 
a  town  in  Massachusetts,  praying  that  it  would  "immediately  adopt 
measures  peaceably  to  dissolve  the  Union  of  these  States."  In  1844, 
and  again  in  1845,  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  avowed  the  right 


302  APPENDIX 

And  what  were  the  occasions  calling  forth  these  declara 
tions  of  the  purpose  of  dissolving  the  Union?  The  first 
was  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana;  the  second  was  the  pro 
posed  admission  of  Louisiana  as  a  State  into  the  Union; 
the  third  was  dissatisfaction  occasioned  by  the  war  with 
Great  Britain;  the  fourth  was  the  proposed  annexation  of 
Texas.  These  measures  were  all  believed  by  the  New  Eng 
land  States  to  be  adverse  to  their  interests.  The  addition 
of  the  new  States  would,  it  was  thought,  destroy  the  equilib 
rium  of  power,  and  give  the  South  a  preponderance;  and 
therefore  these  stalwart  voices  were  raised  declaring  that 
there  was  in  the  last  resort  a  remedy,  and  that  was  the  dis 
solution  of  the  Union.  This  was  the  language  held  by  the 
legislature  of  the  leading  New  England  State  in  1844: 

"The  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  faithful  to  the  compact 
between  the  people  of  the  United  States,  according  to  the  plain 
meaning  and  intent  in  which  it  was  understood  by  them,  is  sincerely 
anxious  for  its  preservation,  but  it  is  determined,  as  it  doubts  not 
the  other  States  are,  to  submit  to  undelegated  powers  in  no  body 
of  men  on  earth." 

This  stalwart  utterance  of  the  great  State  of  Massachu 
setts  expresses  exactly  the  attitude  of  the  seceding  States 
in  1861.  They  believed  that  "the  compact  between  the 
people  of  the  United  States"  had  been  violated,  and  that 
they  could  no  longer  enjoy  equal  rights  within  the  Union,  and 
therefore  they  refused  to  submit  to  the  exercise  of  "undele 
gated  powers"  on  the  part  of  the  National  Government. 

Thus  the  North  and  the  South,  at  these  different  epochs, 

of  Secession  and  threatened  to  secede  if  Texas  was  admitted  to  the 
Union. 

Alexander  Hamilton  threatened  Jefferson  with  the  Secession  of  New 
England  "unless  the  debts  of  the  States  were  assumed  by  the  General 
Government."  February  1,  1850,  Mr.  Hale  offered  in  the  Senate  a 
petition  and  resolutions,  asking  that  body  to  devise,  "without  delay 
some  plan  for  the  immediate  peaceful  dissolution  of  the  American 
Union."  And  Chase  and  Seward  voted  for  its  reception.  (See  "  Oration 
of  Mr.  Leigh  Robinson,  December  13,  1892,"  p.  32.) 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  303 

held  the  same  view  of  the  right  of  withdrawal  from  the 
Union.  When  New  England  became  alarmed  lest  the  South 
should  gain  a  preponderance  of  power  in  the  Union,  she 
declared,  through  the  potent  voice  of  the  Legislature  of 
Massachusetts,  that  she  would  dissolve  the  Union  rather 
than  submit  to  the  exercise,  by  the  government,  of  undele- 
gated  powers. 

The  South  held  with  great  unanimity  to  the  doctrine  of 
State  Sovereignty,  and  that  that  sovereignty  was  inviolable 
by  the  General  Government.  She  had  good  right  and  rea 
son  to  believe  it,  for  it  had  been  the  faith  of  her  greatest 
statesmen  from  the  very  foundation  of  the  republic.  Mr. 
Madison,  the  Father  of  the  Constitution,  held  to  that  faith; 
and  when  Patrick  Henry  opposed  the  adoption  of  the  Con 
stitution  upon  the  ground  that  the  words,  "we,  the  people/' 
seemed  to  imply  a  " consolidated  government"  and  not  "a 
compact  between  States,"  he  replied  that  it  was  not  "we,  the 
people,"  as  composing  one  great  body,  but  "the  people  as 
composing  thirteen  sovereignties."  l 

In  fact,  the  original  language  of  the  preamble  was:  "We, 
the  people  of  the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts, 
Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Penn 
sylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  do  ordain,  declare,  and  estab 
lish  the  following  Constitution."  This  preamble  was  passed 
unanimously;  nor  was  there  any  change  of  opinion  upon  this 
point,  but  when  it  was  seen  that  unanimous  ratification  by 
all  the  States  could  not  be  expected,  it  was  decided  that 
the  consent  of  nine  States  should  be  sufficient  to  establish 
the  new  Confederacy,  and  as  it  could  not  be  known  before 
hand  which  nine  of  the  thirteen  would  ratify  the  instrument, 
the  names  of  the  States  had  to  be  omitted  from  the  preamble. 
Mr.  Madison  further  says:  "Each  State,  in  ratifying  the 
Constitution,  is  considered  as  a  sovereign  body,  independ- 

1  Elliott's  "  Debates,"  Ed.  1836,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  114,  115. 


304  APPENDIX 

ent  of  all  others,  and  only  to  be  bound  by  its  own  voluntary 
act."  l 

Daniel  Webster,  in  his  great  speech  in  reply  to  Mr.  Hayne, 
in  1830,  and  again,  in  1833,  in  his  reply  to  Calhoun,  argued 
that  the  Constitution  was  not  a  "  compact,"  not  a  "  confed 
eracy,"  and  that  the  acts  of  ratification  were  not  "acts  of 
accession."  These  terms,  he  said,  would  imply  the  right  of 
Secession,  but  they  were  terms  unknown  to  the  fathers;  they 
formed  a  "new  vocabulary,"  invented  to  uphold  the  theory 
of  State  Sovereignty. 

But  in  fact  all  these  terms  were  in  familiar  use  in  the  great 
debates  on  the  formation  of  the  Constitution.  In  1787 
Mr.  Gerry,  of  Massachusetts,  speaking  in  the  Constitutional 
Convention,  said:  "If  nine  out  of  thirteen  States  can  dissolve 
the  compact  (he  was  speaking  of  the  Articles  of  Confedera 
tion)  six  out  of  nine  will  be  just  as  able  to  dissolve  the  new 
one  hereafter."  Gouverneur  Morris,  of  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
same  debates,  repeatedly  described  the  Constitution  as  a 
compact.  Alexander  Hamilton  speaks  of  the  new  govern 
ment  as  "a  confederate  republic "  a  "confederacy,"  and  calls 
the  Constitution  a  "compact."  General  Washington  writes 
of  the  Constitution  as  a  compact,  and  repeatedly  uses  the 
terms  "accede"  and  "accession,"  and  once  the  term  "seces 
sion."  If  any  further  proof  were  needed,  it  is  furnished  by 
the  form  in  which  both  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire 
ratified  the  Constitution.  Both  of  these  States,  in  their 
acts  of  ratification,  refer  to  that  instrument  as  "an  explicit 
and  solemn  compact" 

The  proof,  then,  is  overwhelming  that  the  fathers  and  the 
conventions  of  the  States  used  those  very  terms  which  Mr. 
Webster  declared  in  1830  and  1833  implied  the  right  of 
Secession,  and  which  he  had  himself  used  in  1819,  and  used 
again  in  1850  and  1851.  As  to  the  independent  sovereignty 
of  the  States,  it  was  certainly  held  by  the  Federalists  as  well 

1  Federalist,  No.  XXXIX. 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  305 

as  by  their  opponents.1  Thus  Alexander  Hamilton  defends 
the  constitutional  exemption  of  the  States  from  suit  in  the 
courts,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  "one  of  the  attributes  of 
sovereignty,"  "enjoyed  by  the  government  of  every  State 
in  the  Union."  Elsewhere  he  speaks  of  the  States  of  the 
Union  as  "thirteen  independent  States."  Benjamin  Frank 
lin,  Gouverneur  Morris,  and  Roger  Sherman  held  similar 
language.  And  John  Marshall,  afterward  Chief  Justice, 
denying  that  a  State  can  be  called  to  the  bar  of  a  Federal 
Court,  said:  "Is  it  rational  to  suppose  that  the  sovereign 
power  shall  be  dragged  before  a  court?"  2 

As  to  the  right  of  dissolving  the  compact,  as  a  last  resort, 
in  defence  of  its  rights  by  any  State,  let  our  children  and 
our  children's  children  never  forget  that  it  was  a  right  fre 
quently  asserted  in  the  earliest  period  of  our  constitutional 
history.3  Thus  the  people  of  Virginia,  in  their  act  of  rati 
fication,  "declare  and  make  known  that  the  powers  granted 
under  the  Constitution,  being  derived  from  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  may  be  resumed  by  them,  whensoever 
the  same  shall  be  perverted  to  their  injury  or  oppression," 

1  Charles  Francis  Adams  in  his  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Oration,  1902, 
said,  "It  does  not  lie  in  the  mouths  of  the  descendants  of  the  New  Eng 
land  Federalists  of  the  first  two  decennials  of  the  nineteenth  century 
to  'invoke  the  avenging  pen  of  history'  to  record  an  adverse  verdict 
in  the  case  of  any  son  of  Virginia  who  threw  in  his  lot  with  his  State  in 
1861."  (Page  34.) 

Governor  Randolph  of  Virginia,  in  the  Virginia  Ratifying  Conven 
tion,  urged  that  the  rights  of  the  States  were  safeguarded  in  the  Con 
stitution,  and  added,  "If  you  say  that  notwithstanding  the  most 
express  restrictions,  they  [the  government]  may  sacrifice  the  right  of 
the  States,  then  you  establish  another  doctrine  —  that  the  creature 
can  destroy  the  creator,  which  is  the  most  absurd  and  ridiculous  of  all 
doctrines."  (Elliott's  "Debates,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  363.)  (See  "The  Re 
public  of  Republics,"  (p.  396.) 

John  Dickinson  and  Ellsworth  speak  in  the  same  strain  of  the  inde 
pendent  sovereignty  of  the  States. 

'Elliott's  "Debates,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  503. 

'Elliott's  "Debates,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  360,  361,  369. 


306  APPENDIX 

and  New  York  and  Rhode  Island  went  even  farther  and 
declared  "that  the  powers  of  government  may  be  reassumed 
by  the  people  whenever  it  shall  become  necessary  to  their 
happiness."  l  Thus  the  right  of  Secession  was  solemnly 
asserted  in  the  very  acts  by  which  these  States  ratified  the 
Constitution.  That  assertion  was  part  of  the  ratification. 
The  ratification  was  conditioned  by  it.  And  the  acceptance 
of  the  States  as  members  of  the  Union  carried  with  it  the 
acceptance  of  the  condition  and  the  recognition  of  the  right 
of  Secession. 

Mr.  Webster,  in  his  maturer  years,  in  fact  in  the  very 
last  year  of  his  illustrious  life,  distinctly  recognized  the  right 
of  Secession.  In  his  speech  at  Capon  Springs,  Va.,  in  1851, 
he  said: 

"If  the  South  were  to  violate  any  part  of  the  Constitution 
intentionally  and  systematically,  and  persist  in  so  doing, 
year  after  year,  and  no  remedy  could  be  had,  would  the 
North  be  any  longer  bound  by  the  rest  of  it?  And  if  the 
North  were  deliberately,  habitually,  and  of  fixed  purpose, 
to  disregard  one  part  of  it,  would  the  South  be  bound  any 
longer  to  observe  its  other  obligations?  ...  I  have  not 
hesitated  to  say,  and  I  repeat,  that  if  the  Northern  States 
refuse,  wilfully  and  deliberately,  to  carry  into  effect  that 
part  of  the  Constitution  which  respects  the  restoration  of 
fugitive  slaves,  and  Congress  provide  no  remedy,  the  South 
would  no  longer  be  bound  to  observe  the  compact.  A  bar 
gain  cannot  be  broken  on  one  side,  and  still  bind  the  other 
side."  2 

Looking  back  then  to-day,  my  comrades,  over  the  four  and 

1  In  1898,  Mr.  Madison,  in  a  report  to  the  Virginia  Legislature, 
said: 

"The  States,  being  the  parties  to  the  constitutional  compact, 
and  in  their  sovereign  capacity,  it  follows  of  necessity  that  there  can  be 
no  tribunal  above  their  authority  to  decide  in  the  last  resort  whether 
the  compact  made  by  them  be  violated." 

2Curtis's  "Life  of  Webster,"  Vol.  II,  pp.  518,  519. 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  307 

forty  years  which  separate  us  from  the  acts  of  Secession 
passed  by  the  Southern  States,  we  say  to  the  men  of  this 
generation,  and  to  those  who  will  come  after  us,  that  the 
opprobrium  heaped  upon  those  who  then  asserted  the  right 
of  Secession  is  undeserved.  That  right  had  not  been  then 
authoritatively  denied.  On  the  contrary,  it  had  been  again 
and  again  asserted  North  and  South  by  eminent  statesmen 
for  nearly  sixty  years  after  the  formation  of  the  Union. 
Those  who  held  it  had  as  good  right  to  their  opinion  as  those 
who  denied  it.  The  weight  of  argument  was  overwhelmingly 
in  their  favor.  So  clear  was  this,  that  the  United  States 
government  wisely  decided,  after  the  fall  of  the  Confed 
eracy,  that  it  was  not  prudent  to  put  Jefferson  Davis  upon 
his  trial  for  treason.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  forma 
tion  of  the  United  States,  in  1788,  was  accomplished  by  nine 
of  the  States  seceding  from  the  Confederacy  which  had 
existed  for  eleven  years,  and  which  had  bound  the  States 
entering  into  it  to  "a  perpetual  Union."  Thus  the  Union 
itself  was  the  child  of  Secession! 

These  arguments  appeared  to  us  convincing  then.  They 
are  no  less  convincing  to-day.  They  may  not  appear  so 
to  some  of  our  friends  in  the  North;  but  we  appeal  to  them 
in  all  candor,  and  I  do  not  believe  our  appeal  will  be  in  vain, 
to  say  whether  the  South,  believing  as  she  did,  was  not  jus 
tified  in  the  forum  of  conscience  in  doing  what  she  did.  The 
eminent  Northern  historian,  to  whom  allusion  has  already 
been  made,  acknowledges  that  "a  large  majority  of  the 
people  in  the  South  believed  in  the  constitutional  right  of 
Secession/'  and  as  a  consequence  that  the  war  on  the  part 
of  the  National  Government  "  seemed  to  them  a  war  of 
subjugation."  1  Again  he  says  it  was  "in  their  eyes  a  fight 
for  their  property  and  their  liberty  against  spoliation  and 
conquest."  But  if  so,  was  not  their  resistance  justified? 
Is  it  not  the  act  of  patriotism  to  resist  spoliation  and  con- 

1  Rhodes'  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  400,  401. 


308  APPENDIX 

quest,  and  were  not  those  dead  heroes  of  ours,  whose  conse 
crated  memories  we  honor  to-day,  patriots  in  the  noblest 
sense  of  the  word?  Upon  every  recurring  Fourth  of  July 
for  eighty-five  years  the  Southern  men  had  been  reminded, 
by  the  reading  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  that 
"  governments  derive  their  just  powers  from  the  consent 
of  the  governed."  Is  it  surprising,  then,  that  when  the 
people  of  the  South,  en  masse,  deliberately  refused  their  con 
sent  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  they  should 
have  felt  themselves  justified  in  what  they  did  by  the  prin 
ciples  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence?  Our  argument 
for  the  independent  sovereignty  of  the  States  may  not  appear 
conclusive  to  many  of  our  Northern  friends,  but  at  least 
they  cannot  deny  to  the  men  of  '61  the  same  right  of  revo 
lution  that  their  patriot  sires  and  ours  asserted  in  1776. 
But,  if  so,  then  we  claim  the  assent  even  of  those  who  most 
stoutly  deny  the  right  of  Secession,  to  the  assertion  that  the 
armies  of  the  South  were  composed,  not  of  traitors,  but  of 
patriots.  They  will,  they  must,  agree  with  us,  that  no  man 
can  be  a  traitor  if  his  heart  is  pure  and  his  motives  patriotic. 

There  was  a  time,  during  those  dark  years  of  Reconstruc 
tion,  when  public  opinion  in  the  North  demanded  that  we 
who  had  fought  under  the  Southern  flag  should  prove  the 
sincerity  of  our  acceptance  of  the  results  of  the  war  by 
acknowledging  the  unrighteousness  of  our  cause,  and  by 
confessing  contrition  for  our  deeds. 

But  could  we  acknowledge  our  cause  to  be  unrighteous 
when  we  still  believed  it  just?  Could  we  repent  of  an  act 
done  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  conscience?  The  men 
of  the  North  may  claim  that  our  judgment  was  at  fault; 
that  our  action  was  not  justified  by  reason;  that  the  fears 
that  goaded  us  to  withdraw  from  the  Union  were  not  well 
grounded;  but,  so  long  as  it  is  admitted  that  we  followed 
duty  as  we  understood  it,  they  cannot  ask  us  to  repent.  A 
man  can  only  repent,  I  repeat,  of  what  he  is  ashamed,  and  it 
will  not  be  claimed  that  we  should  be  ashamed  of  obeying 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  309 

the  dictates  of  conscience,  in  the  face  of  hardship  and  danger 
and  death. 

That  able  and  honest,  though  biassed,  historian  to  whom 
I  have  just  referred,  speaking  of  Robert  E.  Lee,  confesses 
that  "censure's  voice  upon  the  action  of  such  a  noble  soul 
is  hushed,"  and  he  declares  that  the  time  will  come  when  the 
whole  American  people  will  "recognize  in  him  one  of  the 
finest  products  of  American  life,  for  surely  as  the  years  go 
on  we  shall  see  that  such  a  life  can  be  judged  by  no  partisan 
measure,  and  we  shall  come  to  look  upon  him  as  the  English 
of  our  day  regard  Washington,  whom  little  more  than  a 
century  ago  they  delighted  to  call  a  rebel."  l  Most  true  a 
testimony,  but,  my  comrades,  what  is  here  so  nobly  acknowl 
edged  of  our  glorious  chieftain,  must  be  seen  to  be  true  also 
of  the  gallant  men  who  followed  him;  and  we  feel  sure  that 
the  time  is  coming,  if  it  has  not  already  come,  when  it  will 
be  recognized  all  over  the  land  of  which  that  starry  flag  is 
the  emblem,  that  the  soldiers  who  fought  under  those  tat 
tered  battle  flags  of  the  Southern  Cross  were  animated  by 
as  pure  a  patriotism  and  as  high  a  devotion  to  liberty  as  any 
men  who  ever  fought,  on  any  field,  in  any  age  of  the  world. 
That  acknowledgment  indeed  has  already  been  made,  and 
made  nearly  a  generation  ago,  by  two  of  the  most  gallant 
sons  of  New  England  who  were  our  foemen  in  the  great 
strife  —  I  mean  General  Francis  Bartlett  and  Captain  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes  of  Massachusetts.  Captain  Holmes  now 
occupies  a  seat  upon  the  Supreme  Bench  of  the  United 
States.  Let  me  ask  you  to  listen  to  the  generous  words 
which  he  uttered  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago: 

"We  believed  that  it  was  most  desirable  that  the  North 
should  win;  we  believed  in  the  principle  that  the  Union  is 
indissoluble,  but  we  equally  believed  that  those  who  stood 
against  us  held  just  as  sacred  convictions  that  were  the 
opposite  of  ours,  and  we  respected  them  as  every  man 

1  Rhodes,  76.,  p.  413. 


310  APPENDIX 

with  a  heart  must  respect  those  who  give  all  for  their 
.belief."1 

All  honor  to  the  valiant  soldier  and  accomplished  scholar 
who  uttered  those  words!  All  honor,  too,  to  another  noble 
son  of  New  England,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  who  has  more 
recently  declared,  recognizing  the  same  principle,  that  both 
the  North  and  the  South  were  right  in  the  great  struggle  of 
the  Civil  War,  because  each  believed  itself  right.2 

3.  I  come  now  to  the  third  proposition  which  I  engaged 
to  consider.  It  is  said,  and  widely  believed,  that  the  people 
of  the  South  were  not  attached  to  the  Union  and  were  eager 
to  seize  upon  an  excuse  for  its  dissolution.  Even  if  it  were 
conceded  that  the  South  had  the  right  of  Secession,  or  at 
any  rate  the  right  of  revolution,  we  are  told  that  if  she  loved 
the  Union  as  she  ought  to  have  loved  it,  she  would  not  have 
exercised  that  right. 

In  considering  this  assertion  it  will  be  necessary  to  dis 
tinguish  in  our  reply  between  the  States  that  first  seceded 
and  the  border  States  of  Virginia,  Tennessee,  North  Caro 
lina,  and  Arkansas,  which  later  gave  in  their  adhesion  to 
the  Southern  Confederacy.  As  to  the  former  —  the  cotton 
States  —  if  it  be  true,  as  candid  historians  acknowledge, 
that  their  people  "all  held  that  the  North  was  unconstitu 
tionally  and  unjustly  attempting  to  coerce  the  sovereign 
States"3;  if  it  be  true,  as  we  have  seen  is  now  conceded, 
that  the  people  of  those  States  solemnly  believed  that  their 
liberties  were  assailed,  and  that  the  war  waged  against  them 
was  a  war  of  subjugation,  then  I  submit  that  they  were 

1  Address  at  Keene,  N.  H.,  on  Memorial  Day. 

2  When  Jefferson  Davis  and  Robert  E.  Lee  were  cadets  at  West 
Point  the  text-books  in  use  on  political  science  were  by  St.  George 
Tucker,  a  Southern  writer,  and  William  Rawle,  a  Northern  writer,  and 
both  taught  the  right  of  a  State  to  secede.     (See  "  Republic  of  Repub 
lics,"  by  W.  J.  Sage,  p.  32.)     Can  these  illustrious  men  be  attainted 
as  traitors  because  they  put  in  practice  the  principles  taught  them  by 
the  authority  of  the  government  of  the  United  States? 

1  Rhodes,  76.,  p.  402. 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  311 

constrained  to  choose  between  their  love  of  the  Union  and 
their  love  of  liberty;  and  I  do  not  believe  that  any  brave 
and  candid  patriot  of  any  Northern  State  will  condemn 
them  because,  holding  that  belief,  they  made  the  choice  they 
did.  The  judgment  of  the  South  may  be  impeached,1  but 
not  her  patriotism;  not  her  love  for  the  Union;  if,  shut  up 
to  such  an  alternative,  she  preferred  liberty  without  Union 
to  Union  without  liberty. 

The  case  of  the  border  States  is  somewhat  different. 
Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Kentucky,  Missouri, 
Tennessee,  were  all  opposed  to  Secession.  They  refused 
to  follow  the  lead  of  South  Carolina.  For  example,  as  late 
as  April  4  Virginia  voted  by  eighty-nine  to  forty-five  against 
the  ordinance  of  Secession.  They  believed  the  Southern 
States  had  just  grievances  against  the  North,  and  that  there 
was  much  to  justify  the  fears  which  they  entertained,  but 
they  were  not  prepared  to  dissolve  the  Union.  They  still 
hoped  for  redress  within  the  Union  by  constitutional  means. 
Moreover,  the  men  who  became  our  greatest  generals,  and 
our  most  illustrious  and  determined  leaders  in  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  were,  a  majority  of  them,  earnest  Union  men. 

1  Yet  her  judgment  was  sustained  by  some  of  the  most  illustrious 
men  of  the  North.  Millard  Fillmore  had  said,  in  1856,  referring  to  the 
possible  election  of  Fremont,  as  a  sectional  President,  "Can  they  have 
the  madness  or  folly  to  believe  that  our  Southern  brethren  would  sub 
mit  to  be  governed  by  such  a  chief  magistrate?"  And  Rufus  Choate. 
the  same  year,  wrote  that  if  the  Republican  party  "  accomplishes  its 
objects  and  gives  the  government  to  the  North,  I  turn  my  eyes  from 
the  consequences.  To  the  fifteen  States  of  the  South  that  government 
will  appear  an  alien  government.  It  will  appear  worse.  It  will  appear 
a  hostile  government.  It  will  represent  to  their  eye  a  vast  region  of 
States  organized  upon  anti-slavery,  flushed  by  triumph,  cheered  onward 
by  the  voices  of  the  pulpit,  tribune,  and  press;  its  mission  to  inaugu 
rate  freedom  and  put  down  the  oligarchy;  its  constitution  the  glitter 
ing  and  sounding  generalities  of  natural  right." 

If  this  was  true  in  1856,  how  much  more  in  1860,  after  the  John 
Brown  raid,  and  when  the  hostility  between  the  North  and  the  South 
had  reached  such  an  acute  stage! 


312  APPENDIX 

I  think  it  may  be  said,  too,  that  the  States  which  furnished 
most  of  the  munitions  of  war  and  most  of  the  fighting  men 
were  opposed  to  Secession.  The  Union  which  their  fore 
fathers  had  done  so  much  to  create, l  first  by  the  sword  and 
then  by  the  pen  and  the  tongue,  was  dear  to  their  hearts. 

But  there  came  a  cruel  issue.  On  the  15th  of  April,  1861, 
President  Lincoln  issued  a  proclamation  calling  for  75,000 
men  to  coerce  the  seceded  States  back  into  the  Union.  The 
border  States  were  called  upon  to  furnish  their  quota  of  armed 
men  to  march  against  their  Southern  brethren.  Thus  an 
issue  was  forced  upon  them  which  the  future  historian, 
however  antagonistic  to  the  South,  must  ponder  with  sym 
pathy  and  emotion.  The  men  of  these  border  States  were 
compelled  to  decide  either  to  send  soldiers  to  fight  against 
their  brethren,  or  to  say,  "We  will  throw  in  our  lot  with  them 
and  resist  military  coercion."  Now,  whatever  division  of 
sentiment  existed  in  regard  to  the  policy,  or  even  the  right, 
of  Secession,  there  was  almost  complete  unanimity  ;in  these 
States  in  repudiating  the  right  of  coercion.  That  right  had 
been  vehemently  repudiated  in  the  discussions  in  the  Con 
stitutional  Convention  by  James  Madison,  Alexander 
Hamilton,  and  Edmund  Randolph.  The  South  remained 
true  to  the  doctrine  of  the  fathers  on  this  point.2 

It  is  vain  to  ask  at  this  date  what  would  have  happened 

1  When,  after  the  Revolution,  it  became  apparent  that  jealousy 
of  the  preponderance  of  Virginia,  resulting  from  the  vastness  of  her 
domain,  would  prevent  the  formation  of  the  Union,  that  State,  with 
truly  queenly  generosity,  gave  to  the  Union  her  Northwestern  Terri 
tory,  out  of  which  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  and  part  of  Minnesota,  were  afterward  carved.  This  was 
in  1787.  Has  any  other  State,  or  group  of  States,  done  as  much  in 
proof  of  attachment  to  the  Union?  Moreover  she  dedicated  this  vast 
territory  as  free  soil,  by  the  ordinance  of  1787. 

8  Mr.  Madison  opposed  the  motion  to  incorporate  in  the  Constitu 
tion  the  power  of  coercing  a  State  to  its  duty,  and  by  unanimous  con 
sent  the  project  was  abandoned.  Alexander  Hamilton  denounced 
the  proposal  to  coerce  a  State  as  "one  of  the  maddest  projects  ever 
devised."  Edmund  Randolph  said  it  meant  "civil  war." 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  313 

if  that  fatal  proclamation  of  April  15  had  never  been  issued, 
but  it  is  impossible  to  repress  the  thought  that  perhaps, 
after  all,  the  truest  statesmanship  rested  with  those  who, 
like  Edward  Everett,  and  Horace  Greeley,  and  William  H. 
Seward,  and  General  Scott,  believed  that  the  policy  of  coer 
cion  was  a  political  error.  Certain  it  is  that  but  for  that 
policy  those  great  States  just  enumerated  would  not  have 
thrown  in  their  lot  with  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  it 
is  a  supposition  by  no  means  destitute  of  rational  founda 
tion  that  without  their  support  the  seven  States  which  had 
already  seceded  would  have  ultimately  sought  readmission 
to  the  Union,  and  that  the  Union  might  have  been  saved, 
and  slavery  ultimately  abolished,  without  the  dreadful  cost 
of  a  fratricidal  war  and  without  the  unspeakable  horrors  of 
that  Reconstruction  period,  when  the  star  of  liberty  sank  as 
if  to  rise  no  more  on  the  Southern  States,1  and  without  that 
act  —  the  quintessence  of  injustice  to  the  whites,  and  of 
unkindness  to  the  blacks  themselves  —  I  mean  the  act  which 
conferred  the  right  of  suffrage  indiscriminately  on  the  newly 
emancipated  slaves. 

But,  waiving  all  this,  I  come  back  to  the  question,  Can 
any  blame  attach  to  the  people  of  the  border  States  for 
choosing  as  they  chose  in  the  face  of  the  cruel  alternative, 
which  was  forced  upon  them  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamation, 
to  abandon  the  Union,  or  to  draw  their  swords  against  their 
Southern  brethren? 

It  has  been  well  and  wisely  said  by  a  recent  historian 
(Mr.  Rhodes)  that  "the  political  reason  of  Virginia,  Mary 
land,  and  Kentucky  inclined  them  to  the  North,  their  heart 
strings  drew  them  to  the  South."  I  put  it  to  any  man  with 
a  heart  to  say,  whether,  when  the  bayonet  is  directed  against 
the  bosom  of  a  member  of  one's  own  household,  he  is  to  blame 

*Out  of  that  horror  of  great  darkness  the  heroic  soul  of  Robert 
Edward  Lee  cried  aloud  in  agony:  "Had  I  foreseen  these  results  of  sub 
jugation,  I  would  have  preferred  to  die  at  Appomattox  with  my  brave 
men,  my  sword  in  this  right  hand." 


314  APPENDIX 

for  throwing  himself  into  the  breach  in  his  defence,  even 
though  the  bayonet  be  in  the  hand  of  the  officer  of  the  law? 
I  affirm  that  the  ties  of  blood  and  kindred  are  more  sacred 
even  than  those  which  bind  a  man  to  the  government  of 
his  country.  Could  the  men  of  Virginia  and  North  Caro 
lina  and  Tennessee  be  expected  to  raise  their  hands  against 
their  family  altars  and  firesides,  whatever  view  they  might 
have  taken  of  the  constitutional  questions  at  issue?  But 
the  men  of  those  States  believed  with  great  unanimity  that 
the  sovereignty  of  a  State  was  inviolable  by  the  General 
Government.  That  was  the  faith  they  had  received  from 
their  fathers,  from  a  long  line  of  illustrious  statesmen  and 
political  philosophers.  Of  this  let  one  decisive  example 
suffice.  Though  Robert  E.  Lee  abhorred  the  idea  of  Seces 
sion  and  loved  the  Union  with  a  passionate  devotion,  yet 
when  he  was  asked  by  a  member  of  a  committee  of  Congress 
whether  he  did  not  consider  that  he  was  guilty  of  treason  in 
drawing  his  sword  in  behalf  of  the  South,  he  answered: 
"No,  I  believed  my  allegiance  was  due  to  the  State  of  Vir 
ginia." 

The  people  of  the  South  believed,  as  we  have  said,  that 
government  derives  its  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the 
governed.  They  believed  the  General  Government  had  no 
rightful  power  of  coercion.  Their  New  England  brethren 
had  for  many  years  confirmed  them  in  that  belief.  More 
over  they  believed  a  union  by  force  not  the  Union  which 
the  fathers  had  in  view.  A  governmental  fabric  pinned 
together  by  bayonets  did  not  seem  to  them  a  republic,  but 
a  despotism. 

4.  I  come  now  to  consider  the  opinion,  so  widely  held, 
that  the  South  plunged  into  a  desperate  war  for  the  purpose 
of  perpetuating  slavery,  and  made  that  institution  the  cor 
ner-stone  of  the  new  confederacy  which  it  sought  to  establish. 
Before  dealing  directly  with  this,  however,  a  little  history 
upon  the  subject  of  the  relation  of  the  South  to  slavery  will 
be  salutary. 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  315 

Certainly  we  have  no  tears  to  shed  over  its  abolition. 
There  is  not  a  man  in  the  South  who  would  wish  to  see  it 
reestablished.  But  there  are  several  facts,  unknown  to  some, 
and  ignored  by  other,  historians,  which  are  essential  to  a 
right  understanding  of  this  question.  I  shall  hold  them  up 
to  the  light  to-day,  because  I  would  not  have  the  attitude 
of  that  dear,  noble,  old  South  misrepresented  or  misunder 
stood  by  our  descendants. 

In  the  first  place  let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  it  was  the 
government  of  England,  and  not  the  people  of  the  South, 
which  was  originally  responsible  for  the  introduction  of 
slavery.  In  1760  South  Carolina  passed  an  act  to  prohibit 
further  importation  of  slaves,  but  England  rejected  it  with 
indignation. 

The  colony  of  Virginia  again,  and  again,  and  again,  pro 
tested  to  the  British  king  against  sending  slaves  to  her  shores, 
but  in  vain  —  they  were  forced  upon  her.1  Then,  too, 
Virginia  was  the  first  of  all  the  States,  North  or  South,  to 
prohibit  the  slave-trade,  and  Georgia  was  the  first  to  incor 
porate  such  a  prohibition  in  her  organic  constitution.  In 
fact,  Virginia  was  in  advance  of  the  whole  world  on  this 
subject;  she  abolished  the  slave-trade  in  1778,  nearly  thirty 
years  before  England  did,  and  the  same  period  before  New 
England  was  willing  to  consent  to  its  abolition.  Again, 
at  the  formation  of  the  Constitution,  Virginia  raised  her 
protest  against  the  continuance  of  that  traffic,  but  New 
England  raised  a  voice  of  objection,  and,  uniting  her  influ 
ence  with  that  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  secured  the 
continuance  of  the  slave-trade  for  twenty  years  more,  by 
constitutional  provision.2  On  the  other  hand  the  first  stat 
ute  establishing  slavery  in  America  was  passed  by  Massa 
chusetts,  December,  1641,  in  her  code  entitled  Body  of 
Liberties.  The  first  fugitive  slave  law  was  enacted  by  the 

1  One  hundred  petitions  against  the  introduction  of  slaves  were 
sent  by  the  colonists  of  Virginia  to  the  British  government. 

2  "The  Critical  Period  of  American  History,"  by  John  Fiske,  p.  262. 


316  APPENDIX 

same  State.  She  made  slaves  of  her  captives  in  the  Pequot 
war.  Another  fact  to  be  remembered  is  that  every  Southern 
State  legislated  against  the  slave-trade. 

Thus  slavery  was  an  inheritance  which  the  people  of 
the  South  received  from  the  fathers;  and  if  the  States  of  the 
North,  after  the  Revolution,  sooner  or  later  abolished  the 
institution,  it  cannot  be  claimed  that  the  abolition  was  dic 
tated  by  moral  considerations,  but  by  differences  of  climate, 
soil,  and  industrial  interests.1 

It  existed  in  several  of  the  Northern  States  more  than 
fifty  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  while 
the  importation  of  slaves  into  the  South  continued  to  be  car 
ried  on  by  Northern  merchants  and  Northern  ships,  without 
interference  in  the  traffic  from  any  quarter,  until  it  was 
prohibited  by  the  spontaneous  action  of  the  Southern  States 
themselves. 

Note  this  also:  The  contest  between  the  North  and  the 
South  over  the  extension  of  slavery  to  the  territories  was 
a  contest  on  the  part  of  the  South  for  equal  rights  under 
the  Constitution,  and  it  ought  to  be  clearly  understood  that 
it  did  not  involve  the  increase  of  slavery.  Had  that  right 
been  conceded,  not  one  additional  slave  would  have  been 

xThe  Supreme  Court  in  1857  held  the  following  language:  "This 
change  had  not  been  produced  by  any  change  of  opinion  in  relation  to 
this  race,  but  because  it  was  discovered  by  experience  that  slave  labor 
was  unsuited  to  the  climate  and  productions  of  these  States,  for  some 
of  them  .  .  .  were  actively  engaged  in  the  slave-trade." 

Goodell's  "Slavery  and  Anti-slavery "  — an  authority  not  friendly 
to  the  South  — says  (pp.  10-11)  that  the  merchants  of  New  England 
seaports  "almost  monopolized  the  immense  profits  of  that  lucrative, 
but  detestable,  trade." 

The  principal  operation  of  abolition  in  the  North,  says  an  English 
authority,  "was  to  transfer  Northern  slaves  to  Southern  markets." 
(Ingram's  "  History  of  Slavery,"  London,  1895,  p.  184.) 

On  March  26,  1788,  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  passed  a  law 
ordering  all  free  negroes  out  of  the  State.  If  they  would  not  go  volun 
tarily,  they  were  to  be  whipped  out.  This  confirms  the  view  stated 
in  the  text. 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  317 

added  to  the  number  existing  in  the  country.  "It  was  a 
question  of  the  distribution  or  dispersion  of  the  slaves  rather 
than  of  the  extension  of  slavery.  Removal  is  not  exten 
sion.  Indeed,  if  emancipation  was  the  end  to  be  desired, 
the  dispersion  of  the  negroes  over  a  wider  area,  among 
additional  territories,  eventually  to  become  States,  and  in 
climates  unfavorable  to  slave  labor,  instead  of  hindering, 
would  have  promoted  this  object  by  diminishing  the  diffi 
culties  in  the  way  of  ultimate  emancipation."  l 

And  now  I  call  your  attention  to  a  fact  of  capital  impor 
tance  in  this  discussion;  viz.,  that  the  sentiment  in  favor  of 
emancipation  was  rapidly  spreading  in  the  South  in  the 
first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Wilson  acknowl 
edges  "there  was  no  avowed  advocate  of  slavery"  at  that 
time  in  Virginia.  It  is  stated  on  high 2  authority  that,  in 

1  This  is  the  language  of  Jefferson  Davis,  but  the  argument  is  Henry 
Clay's.     In  1820  he  argued  that  the  extension  of  slavery  was  far-seeing 
humanity,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  agreed  with  him,  saying  that  spreading 
the  slaves  over  a  larger  surface  "will  dilute  the  evil  everywhere  and 
facilitate  the  means  of  getting  finally  rid  of  it."     Mr.  Madison  took 
the  same  view.     These  three   statesmen  were  all  earnest  emancipa 
tionists. 

2  Judge  Temple  of  Tennessee.     "The    Covenanter,   the   Cavalier, 
and  the  Puritan,"  p.  209. 

"In  1822  there  were  five  or  six  abolition  societies  in  Kentucky. 
In  1819  the  first  distinctively  emancipation  paper  in  the  United  States 
was  published  in  Jonesboro,  eastern  Tennessee."  There  were  eighteen 
emancipation  societies  in  that  region  organized  by  the  Covenanters, 
Methodists,  and  Quakers. 

76.,  p.  208. 

A  Massachusetts  writer,  Geo.  Lunt,  says:  "The  States  of  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  and  Tennessee  were  engaged  in  practical  movements  for 
the  gradual  emancipation  of  their  slaves.  This  movement  continued 
until  it  was  arrested  by  the  aggressions  of  the  Abolitionists." 

The  people  of  the  South  believed  they  were,  at  heart,  more  friendly 
to  the  Negro  race  than  their  Northern  brethren,  and  such  facts  as  the 
following  appeared  to  justify  their  belief.  In  1830,  Senator  Benton 
called  attention  to  the  "actual  expulsion  of  a  great  body  of  free  colored 
people  from  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  not  one  word  of  objection,  not  one 
note  of  grief."  The  whole  number  expatriated  was  estimated  at  ten 


318  APPENDIX 

the  year  1826,  there  were  143  emancipation  societies  in  the 
whole  country;  and  of  this  number  103  were  established  in 
the  South.  It  is  well  known  that  one  branch  of  the  Legis 
lature  of  Virginia  gave  a  very  large  vote  in  favor  of  a  law  of 
emancipation  in  the  year  1832,  and  I  was  assured  in  1860, 
by  Col.  Thomas  Jefferson  Randolph,  of  Virginia,  the  grand 
son  of  Mr.  Jefferson  —  himself  an  influential  member  of  the 
legislature  in  1832  —  that  emancipation  would  certainly 
have  been  carried  the  ensuing  year,  but  for  the  revulsion 
of  feeling  which  followed  the  fanatical  agitation  of  the  sub 
ject  by  the  Abolitionists  of  the  period.  The  legislature  of 
1832,  though  it  defeated  the  emancipation  bill  by  a  small 
majority,  yet  passed  a  resolution  postponing  the  considera 
tion  of  the  subject  till  public  opinion  had  further  developed.1 
It  is  our  belief,  and  we  put  the  statement  on  record,  that 
our  children  and  children's  children  may  remember  it,  that 
but  for  passions  naturally  roused  by  the  violent  attacks 
made  upon  the  moral  character  of  the  Southern  slave-holder, 
slavery  would  have  been  peaceably  abolished  in  the  border 

thousand.  He  added:  "This  is  a  remarkable  event,  paralleled  only 
by  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors  from  Spain  and  the  Huguenots  from 
France."  In  1846  the  liberated  slaves  of  John  Randolph  were  driven 
by  a  mob  away  from  the  lands  which  had  been  purchased  for  them  in 
Ohio.  In  1855  the  Topeka  (Kansas)  constitution  adopted  by  the  Free- 
soilers  contained  an  article,  ratified  by  a  vote  of  almost  three  to  one, 
forbidding  any  free  negro  to  reside  in  the  State,  and  this  was  accepted 
by  the  Republican  House  of  Representatives.  In  1860  the  consti 
tutions  of  thirty  out  of  thirty-four  States  of  the  Union  excluded  negroes 
from  exercising  the  suffrage.  Facts  like  these  did  not  tend  to  confirm 
the  confidence  of  the  people  of  the  South  in  the  sincerity  of  the  agita 
tion  on  behalf  of  the  negro. 

1  The  Richmond  Whig  of  March  6,  1832,  said: 

"The  great  mass  of  Virginia  herself  triumphs  that  the  slavery  ques 
tion  has  been  taken  up  by  the  legislature,  that  her  legislators  are 
grappling  with  the  monster,  and  they  contemplate  the  distant  but 
ardently  desired  result  [emancipation]  as  the  supreme  good  which  a 
benevolent  Providence  could  vouchsafe." — Niles  Register,  Dec.  10, 
1831,  p.  266  and  p.  78. 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  319 

States  before  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  it 
cannot  be  doubted  that  the  sentiment  against  it  must  ulti 
mately  have  become  so  strong  that  it  would  also  have  been 
abolished  in  the  cotton  States  without  violence  and  without  war. 

This  opinion  is  scouted  by  Northern  historians;  but  let 
the  facts  be  calmly  weighed  in  the  balance: 

It  is  acknowledged  that  slavery  was  almost  universally 
considered  a  great  evil  in  the  South  from  1789  down  to  1837. 

It  is  further  acknowledged  that  public  opinion  there  under 
went  a  revolution  on  this  subject  in  the  decade  1832-42;  it 
was  now  spoken  of  by  some  of  her  writers  and  leaders  for  the 
first  time  as  a  blessing.1 

It  is  a  fact  which  cannot  be  denied  in  the  light  of  history, 
that  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  emancipation  was  rapidly 
spreading  in  the  South  down  to  1832.  I  have  already 
quoted  the  statement  made  to  me  in  1860  by  a  member  of 
the  legislature  of  Virginia  of  1831-32  that  its  members 
were  agreed  at  that  time  on  the  principle  of  emancipation. 

What,  then,  produced  this  fateful  change  of  sentiment, 
which  the  historian  records  between  1832  and  1837?  It  is 
often  said  that  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin  was  the  cause. 
But  that  invention  came  in  1793.  It  was  forty  years  too 
early  to  account  for  this  phenomenon  which  we  seek  to 
understand. 

It  is  our  belief  that  the  future  historian,  who  shall  be  a 
careful  student  of  human  nature,  and  of  the  motives  which 
influence  its  action,  as  well  as  of  historical  facts,  will  see  in 
the  abolition  crusade  which  was  launched  by  William  Lloyd 
Garrison,  Jan.  1,  1831,  the  real  cause  of  this  revolution  in 
Southern  sentiment  on  the  subject  of  slavery. 

The  violence  and  the  virulence  of  that  crusade  produced 
its  natural  result.2  It  angered  the  South.  It  stifled  dis- 

1  See  Rhodes,  History  of  United  States/'  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  54,  68. 

2  One  of  these  writers  said  the  only  hope  for  the  moral  improvement 
of  the  whites  in  the  South  was  the  amalgamation  with  the  black  race. 
Slave-holders  were  called  "bloodhounds." 


320  APPENDIX 

cussion.     It  checked  the  movement  toward  emancipation. 
It  forced  a  more  stringent  policy  toward  the  slave. 

The  people  of  the  South,  of  whom  Von  Hoist  writes  that 
they  were  as  moral  and  as  religious  as  any  other  people  in 
the  world,  found  themselves  held  up  to  the  odium  of  man 
kind  for  the  abominable  crime  of  holding  men  in  bondage, 
an  act  which  holy  men  like  Jonathan  Edwards  and  George 
Whitfield  had  committed  in  the  eighteenth  century,  with 
out  offence  to  the  most  sensitive  conscience.  But  this  was 
not  all.  The  publication  of  Garrison's  Liberator  Jan. 
1,  1831,  was  followed,  seven  months  after,  by  Nat.  Tur 
ner's  negro  insurrection,  in  which  sixty-one  persons,  men, 
women,  and  children,  were  murdered  in  the  night.  The 
South  naturally,  and  I  think  with  reason,  connected  these 
two  events  as  cause  and  effect,1  and  the  ghastly  spectre  of 
servile  insurrection,  like  that  which  desolated  San  Domingo, 
rose  before  the  imagination  of  the  people  from  the  Potomac 
to  the  Rio  Grande.  After  this  the  emancipation  societies 
in  the  South  were  dissolved  and  all  discussion  of  the  subject 
ceased.  As  to  the  character  of  that  abolition  crusade,  I 
agree  with  Henry  Clay  that  its  authors  were  reckless  of 
consequences,  ready  to  "hurry  us  down  that  dreadful  preci 
pice  that  leads  to  civil  war  and  the  dissolution  of  the  Union." 
I  agree  with  Rufus  Choate  that  the  Abolition  party  was  "a 
party  which  knows  one-half  of  America  only  to  hate  it." 
I  agree  with  Edward  Everett  in  applying  to  the  Abolition 
ists  the  words  of  the  poet: 

"Arouse  the  tiger  of  Hyrcanean  deserts; 
Strive  with  the  half-starved  lion  for  its  prey; 
Lesser  the  risk,  than  rouse  the  slumbering  fire 
Of  wild  fanaticism." 

As  to  its  methods,  it  is  enough  to  recall  the  fact  that  in 
1835  President  Jackson,  in  his  message  to  Congress,  called 

JThe  governor  of  Virginia  publicly  expressed  his  belief  that  this 
insurrection  "was  designed  and  matured  by  fanatics  in  some  of  the 
neighboring  States." 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  321 

attention  to  the  transmission  through  the  mails  "of  inflam 
matory  appeals  addressed  to  the  passions  of  the  slaves,  in 
prints  and  in  various  sorts  of  publications,  calculated  to 
stimulate  them  to  insurrection,  and  to  produce  all  the  hor 
rors  of  a  servile  war."  Now,  bearing  these  facts  in  mind, 
and  remembering  the  statement  quoted  from  Col.  Thomas 
Jefferson  Randolph,  that  the  abolition  crusade  was  the  imme 
diate  ;cause  of  the  legislature  of  Virginia  abandoning  the 
scheme  of  emancipation,  which  they  had  previously  been 
agreed  on  in  principle,  we  hold  that  the  future  historian 
will  confirm  our  claim  that,  but  for  the  fanaticism  of  the  Abo 
litionists,  slavery  would  certainly  have  been  peaceably  abol 
ished  in  Virginia,  and  probably  in  the  other  Southern  States.1 
But  this  is  not  the  whole  story.  That  movement  was 
as  essentially  unjust  as  it  was  violent  and  fanatical.  It 
was  a  demand  for  immediate  emancipation  without  com 
pensation  or  consideration  of  any  kind.  England  in  1833 
abolished  slavery  in  the  West  Indies,  but  she  compensated 
the  slave-owners,  devoting  $100,000,000  to  that  purpose. 
But  never  in  all  the  long  abolition  agitation  of  thirty  years, 
from  1831  to  1861,  was  there  any  proposition  to  remunerate 
the  South  for  the  loss  of  her  slaves.2  Her  people  were  ex 
pected  to  make  a  sacrifice  for  emancipation  never  demanded 
before  of  any  people  on  earth.  I  do  not  forget  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  proposal,  in  March,  1862,  but  that  was  addressed  to 
the  border  States  which  had  not  seceded,  and,  besides,  had 
it  been  otherwise,  it  came  too  late,  when  flagrant  war  had 
embittered  the  hostility  between  the  sections. 

1  Daniel  Webster  in  his  7th  of  March  speech  attributed  the  change  of 
sentiment  in  Virginia  on  the  subject  of  slavery  to  the  intemperance  of  the 
Abolitionists.     Many  other  Northern  leaders  were  of  the  same  opinion. 

2  Mr.  John  Ford  Rhodes  (I,  381),  indeed,  says  that  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  North  would  have  gladly  agreed  to  emancipation  with 
compensation,  but  he  is  not  able  to  adduce  any  evidence  in  support 
of  this  opinion  beyond  an  obiter  dictum  of  Mr.  Seward  in  the  Senate 
that  he  was  willing  "to  apply  the  national  treasure  to  effect  the  peace 
ful,  voluntary  removal  of  slavery  itself." 


322  APPENDIX 

It  is  said,  however,  to  the  reproach  of  the  South,  that  her 
sentiments  on  the  subject  of  slavery  were  behind  the  age 
in  1861.  But  how  far  was  she  behind?  And  why? 

Let  her  critics  remind  themselves  that,  as  late  as  1821, 
the  State  of  Rhode  Island  sent  a  slave-trader  to  represent 
her  in  the  United  States  Senate.  As  late  as  1833  a  great 
English  minister,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  would  have  nothing  to 
do  with  either  immediate  emancipation  or  gradual.  And 
Mr.  Gladstone,  at  the  same  epoch,  while  admitting  that 
the  extinction  of  slavery  was  "a  consummation  devoutly 
to  be  desired  and  in  good  earnest  to  be  forwarded/'  yet  held 
that  "  immediate  and  unconditional  emancipation,  without 
a  previous  advance  in  character,  must  place  the  negro  in  a 
state  where  he  would  be  his  own  worst  enemy."  It  is  fair 
to  remember  also  that  Pitt,  Fox,  Grenville,  and  Grey,  while 
eager  to  bring  the  slave-trade  to  an  instant  end,  habitually 
disclaimed  as  calumny  any  intention  of  emancipating  the 
blacks  on  the  sugar  islands. 

Again  the  dispassionate  enquirer  will  reflect  that  it  was 
much  easier,  and  much  less  costly,  to  be  an  enthusiastic 
Abolitionist  in  old  England,  or  New  England  (where  slavery 
was  not  profitable),  than  in  the  Southern  States,  where 
the  labor  of  the  black  was  necessary  to  the  cultivation  of 
the  great  staples. 

The  people  of  the  South,  too,  could  better  realize  the  diffi 
culty  and  the  danger  of  emancipation.  She  was,  as  Jeffer 
son  said,  in  the  position  of  the  man  who  held  the  wolf  by  the 
ears  —  she  didn't  want  to  hold  on,  but  she  was  afraid  to 
let  go. 

Was  she  to  blame  if  she  feared  to  repeat  the  mistakes  and 
failures  of  the  English  abolition  movement,  of  which  Mr. 
Disraeli  said:  "The  movement  of  the  middle  class  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery  was  virtuous,  but  it  was  not  wise.  It 
was  an  ignorant  movement.  The  history  of  the  abolition 
of  slavery  by  the  English,  and  its  consequences,  would  be 
a  narrative  of  ignorance,  injustice,  blundering,  waste,  and 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  323 

havoc,  not  easily  paralleled  in  the  history  of  mankind." 
If,  then,  we  acknowledge  that  the  South  was  behind  the  rest 
of  the  civilized  world  in  1861  in  her  sentiment  on  the  subject 
of  slavery,  we  think  her  apology  is  ample:  First,  that  she 
was  interested  in  the  perpetuation  of  slavery  as  no  other 
people  ever  was;  second,  that  the  difficulty  and  the  danger 
of  emancipation  pressed  upon  her  as  upon  no  other  people; 
and  third,  that  her  sentiment,  which  had  been  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  moving  steadily  toward  emancipation,  was 
violently  turned  back  by  the  fanaticism  of  the  abolition 
crusade.1 

But  the  Southern  Confederacy  is  reproached  with  the  fact 
that  it  was  deliberately  built  on  slavery.  Slavery,  we  are 
told,  was  its  corner-stone.  Even  that  most  honest  historian, 
Mr.  Rhodes,  says,  "Their  fight,  they  averred,  was  for  liberty, 
and  yet  they  were  weighted  by  the  denial  of  liberty  to  three 
and  one-half  million  of  human  beings." 

But  if  slavery  was  the  corner-stone  of  the  Southern  Con 
federacy,  what  are  we  to  say  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States?  That  instrument  as  originally  adopted  by  the 
thirteen  colonies  contained  three  sections  which  recognized 
slavery.2  And  whereas  the  constitution  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy  prohibited  the  slave-trade,  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  prohibited  the  abolition  of  the  slave- 
trade  for  twenty  years!  And  if  the  men  of  the  South  are 
reproached  for  denying  liberty  to  three  and  a  half  millions 
of  human  beings,  at  the  same  time  that  they  professed  to 
be  waging  a  great  war  for  their  own  liberty,  what  are  we  to 
say  of  the  revolting  colonies  of  1776,  who  rebelled  against 

1  We  acknowledge  with  sorrow  that  there  was  a  painful  deteriora 
tion  in  the  attitude  of  many  influential  men  in  the  South  toward  sla 
very  between  1840  and  1860.     There  was  even  a  movement  of  some 
strength  in  favor  of  the  revival  of  the  slave-trade  in  the  decade  preced 
ing  the  war.     This  change  of  view  cannot  be  excused,  but  it  was 
undoubtedly  the   reaction  from  the  violent  fanaticism  of   the  aboli 
tion  movement. 

2  Article  I,  Sections  2  and  9,  and  Article  IV,  Section  2. 


324  APPENDIX 

the  British  crown  to  achieve  their  liberty,  while  slavery 
existed  in  every  one  of  the  thirteen  colonies  unrepudiated? 
Cannot  these  historians  who  deny  that  the  South  fought  for 
liberty,  because  they  held  the  blacks  in  bondage,  see,  that 
upon  the  same  principle  they  must  impugn  the  sincerity 
of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence?  For 
while,  in  that  famous  instrument,  they  affirmed  before  the 
world  that  all  men  were  created  free  and  equal,  and  that 
" governments  derive  their  just  powers  from  the  consent 
of  the  governed,"  they  took  no  steps  whatever  to  free  the 
slaves  which  were  held  in  every  one  of  the  thirteen  colonies. 
No,  my  friends,  if  the  corner-stone  of  the  constitution  of 
the  Southern  Confederacy  was  slavery,  the  Constitution 
of  1789  —  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  —  had  a 
worse  corner-stone,  since  it  held  its  segis  of  protection  over 
the  slave-trade  itself!  We  ask  the  candid  historian  then  to 
answer  this  question:  If  the  colonists  of  1776  were  freemen 
fighting  for  liberty,  though  holding  men  in  slavery  in  every 
one  of  the  thirteen  colonies,  why  is  the  tribute  of  patriotism 
denied  to  the  Southern  men  of  1861  because  they  too  held 
men  in  bondage? 

If  George  Washington,  a  slave-holder,  was  yet  a  champion 
of  liberty,  how  can  that  title  be  denied  to  Robert  E.  Lee? 

Slavery  was  not  abolished  in  the  British  dominions  until 
the  year  1833.  Will  any  man  dare  to  say  there  were  no 
champions  of  human  liberty  in  England  before  that  time? 

But  after  all  that  may  be  said,  we  are  told  that  slavery 
was  the  cause  of  the  war,  and  that  the  citizen  soldiers  of  the 
South  sprang  to  arms  in  defence  of  slavery. 

Yes,  my  comrades,  History,  or  rather  let  us  say  Calumny, 
masquerading  as  History,  has  told  the  world  that  that  battle- 
flag  of  yours  was  the  emblem  of  slave  power,  and  that  you 
fought,  not  for  liberty,  but  for  the  right  to  hold  your  fellow- 
men  in  bondage. 

Think  of  it,  soldiers  of  the  Southern  Cross!  Think  of  it, 
followers  of  Lee  and  Jackson  and  Albert  Sidney  Johnston! 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  325 

You  were  fighting,  they  say,  for  the  privilege  of  holding  your 
fellowmen  in  bondage!  Will  you  for  one  moment  acknowl 
edge  the  truth  of  that  indictment?  Ah,  no!  that  banner 
of  the  Southern  Cross  was  studded  with  the  stars  of  God's 
heaven,  like  Old  Glory  itself.  You  could  not  have  followed 
a  banner  that  was  not  the  banner  of  liberty!  You  sprang 
from  the  loins  of  freemen !  You  drank  in  freedom  with  your 
mother's  milk!  Your  revolutionary  sires  were  not  inspired 
by  a  more  intense  devotion  to  liberty  than  you  were! 

Tell  me,  were  you  thinking  of  your  slaves  when  you  cast 
all  in  the  balance,  your  lives,  your  fortunes,  your  sacred 
honor,  in  order  to  endure  the  hardships  of  the  march,  and  the 
camp,  and  the  peril  and  the  suffering  of  the  battle  field? 
Why,  it  was  but  a  small  minority  of  the  men  who  fought 
in  the  Southern  armies  —  hardly  one  in  ten  —  that  were 
financially  interested  in  the  institution  of  slavery. 

There  is,  however,  a  court  to  which  this  contention  may  be 
referred  for  settlement  —  one  whose  decision  all  men  ought 
to  accept.  It  is  composed  of  the  three  men  who  may  be 
supposed  to  have  known,  if  any  men  knew,  the  object  for 
which  the  war  was  waged,  —  Abraham  Lincoln,  Jefferson 
Davis,  and  Robert  E.  Lee.  And  their  decision  is  unanimous. 
Mr.  Lincoln  always  declared  that  the  object  of  the  war 
was  the  restoration  of  the  Union,  and  not  the  emancipation 
of  the  slaves.  Mr.  Davis  as  positively  declared  that  the 
South  was  not  fighting  for  slavery,  but  for  independence. 
And  Robert  E.  Lee  expressed  his  opinion  by  setting  all  his 
slaves  free  Jan.  8,  1863,  and  then  going  on  with  the  war 
for  more  than  two  years  longer.1 

1 1  will  only  add  that  if  the  North  waged  the  war  not  for  the  Union 
but  for  the  slave,  then  it  is  remarkable  that  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  advisers 
never  found  out  that  fact.  And  as  to  the  South  —  if,  indeed,  she  fought 
not  for  liberty  but  for  her  property  in  slaves  —  it  is  still  more  remark 
able  that  Jefferson  Davis  should  have  embarked  on  the  enterprise 
of  Secession,  believing  that  he  would  as  a  consequence  lose  his  slaves, 
for  in  February,  1861,  he  wrote  to  his  wife  in  these  words,  "In  any  case 
our  slave  property  will  eventually  be  lost; "  and  that  General  Lee  should 


326  APPENDIX 

I  will  not  apologize,  my  comrades,  for  having  taxed  your 
patience  so  long.  You  will  recognize  at  once  the  importance 
and  the  difficulty  of  the  task  I  set  myself  to  perform,  and  you 
will  not  begrudge  the  consecration  of  even  so  long  a  time  as 
I  have  detained  you  to-day,  in  order  that  the  true  story  of 
the  course  pursued  by  the  Southern  States  should  again  be 
set  forth. 

The  generation  which  participated  in  that  great  struggle 
is  rapidly  passing  away,  and  we  believe  that  no  fitting  occa 
sion  should  be  neglected  by  those  who  yet  survive,  to  vindi 
cate  the  motives  and  to  explain  the  principles  of  the  actors 
in  that  great  drama.  Only  by  iteration  and  reiteration 
by  the  writers  and  speakers  of  the  South  will  the  real  facts 
be  rescued  from  oblivion,  from  misunderstanding,  and  from 
misrepresentation,  and  the  conduct  and  characters  of  our 
leaders,  and  the  heroic  men  who  followed  them,  be  under 
stood  and  honored  as  they  ought  to  be  honored  by  the  gen 
eration  that  comes  after  us.  And,  my  friends,  the  fulfilment 
of  this  duty  will  make  for  unity  and  fraternity  among  Ameri 
cans,  not  for  sectionalism.  It  will  strengthen,  not  weaken, 
the  bonds  of  the  Union  in  the  years  to  come  if  the  genera 
tions  yet  unborn  are  taught  to  recognize  that  the  principles 
and  the  aims  of  the  men  of  the  South  were  as  high  and  as 
pure  as  those  which  animated  their  foemen  of  the  North. 
Had  the  men  of  '61,  North  and  South,  known  each  other, 
and  respected  each  other,  and  each  other's  motives,  that 
terrible  Civil  War  would  never  have  been.  Let  the  Union 
of  the  future  be  founded  on  mutual  respect,  and  to  this  end 
let  the  truth  concerning  the  principles  and  acts  of  the  old 
South  be  told  —  the  whole  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth 

"nothing  extenuated,  nor  aught  set  down  in  malice." 

have  emancipated  every  one  of  his  slaves  more  than  two  years  before 
the  close  of  the  war.  Thus  the  political  head  of  the  Confederacy 
entered  on  the  war  foreseeing  the  eventual  loss  of  his  slaves,  and  the 
military  head  of  the  Confederacy  actually  set  his  slaves  free  before  the 
war  was  half  over;  yet  both,  they  say,  were  fighting  for  slavery! 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  327 

Comrades  and  fellow-citizens,  we  thank  God  that  to-day 
the  sun  shines  upon  a  truly  reunited  country.  Sectional 
ism  is  dead  and  buried.  In  the  providence  of  God  the  Span 
ish  War  has  drawn  North  and  South  together  in  bonds  of 
genuine  brotherhood.  Their  blood  has  watered  the  same 
soil;  their  common  patriotism  has  glorified  again  the  land  of 
Washington.  Men  who  faced  one  another  in  deadly  con 
flict  at  Shiloh  and  Gettysburg  rushed  side  by  side  under 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  up  the  heights  of  San  Juan  and 
El  Caney.  There  was  no  North  or  South  on  those  fields  of 
battle,  or  in  Santiago  Harbor,  or  in  front  of  Manila.  Yes, 
and,  as  was  well  said  by  our  own  Hilary  Herbert  at  the 
Peace  Jubilee,  "Out  of  the  grave  of  sectionalism  arose  the 
triumphant  spirit  of  Americanism."  Men  of  the  South,  we 
have  part  in  that  spirit  of  Americanism.  It  is  our  heritage 
as  well  as  theirs. 

For  one  moment  let  us  turn  from  the  sacred  past  —  from 
the  memories  of  this  day  and  hour  —  and  look  into  the 
future.  And  what  is  it  that  we  behold?  Surely  a  Pisgah 
prospect  of  beauty  and  hope!  A  great  destiny  opens  before 
America.  Great  are  her  privileges,  her  opportunities,  her 
responsibilities.  The  God  of  nations  has  given  her  possi 
bilities  of  power  and  usefulness  among  the  peoples  of  the 
globe  that  are  almost  boundless.  He  has  great  things  for 
this  nation  to  do.  He  has  given  her  a  great  part  to  play  in 
the  spreading  of  civilization  and  liberty  and  religion  through 
out  the  world.  Blind  indeed  will  the  people  be  if  they  do 
not  see  it  so  —  faithless  if  they  do  not  grasp  it!  But  I 
want  to  say  that  we  of  the  South  claim  our  part  in  this 
great  destiny  of  America.  Eagerly  and  joyfully  we  ac 
cept  our  share  in  the  responsibilities,  in  the  opportuni 
ties,  in  the  strenuous  conflicts,  in  the  conquests,  in  the 
glory  of  the  future  of  our  country.  To  that  future  we 
turn  our  faces.  To  its  duties,  to  its  labors,  to  its  battles 
we  consecrate  ourselves,  our  strength,  and  our  manhood. 
We  are  Americans,  and  nothing  that  pertains  to  the  honor, 


328  APPENDIX 

to  the  welfare,  to  the  glory  of  America  is,  or  shall  be, 
foreign  to  us. 

But  this  occasion  belongs  not  to  the  future,  but  to  the 
past.  Let  our  closing  thoughts  then  be  dedicated  to  the 
memory  of  our  dead  —  that  mighty  host  of  brave  soldiers 
and  sailors  who  fell  under  the  banner  of  the  Lost  Cause  forty 
years  ago.  The  Grecian  orator,  whose  words  I  have  chosen 
as  a  motto  for  my  address,  speaking  of  the  Athenians,  ex 
claims,  "Is  there  a  poet  or  an  author  who  will  not  do  his 
utmost,  by  his  eloquence  and  his  knowledge,  to  immortal 
ize  such  heroic  valor  and  virtue?"  Such  is  my  feeling  as 
I  think  of  those  now  silent  battalions  of  Southern  soldiers 
that  sleep  on  so  many  hard-fought  fields.  But  where  is  the 
poet  or  the  orator  who  can  fitly  eulogize  them?  The  pen  of 
a  Thucydides,  the  tongue  of  a  Pericles  or  a  Demosthenes, 
the  harp  of  a  Homer,  were  needed  justly  to  tell  the  epic  story 
of  that  great  struggle  in  which  the  best  and  bravest  sons 
of  our  Southland  freely  laid  down  their  lives;  a  struggle  so 
gigantic  in  its  proportions  that  the  siege  of  Troy  —  the 
famous  battles  of  the  long  Peloponnesian  War  —  even  the 
great  engagements  of  Marathon  and  Leuctra,  of  Salamis  and 
Chseronea  —  sink  into  insignificance  in  the  comparison. 

I  will  not  attempt  then  to  pronounce  a  fitting  panegyric 
upon  those  brave  men,  nor  upon  their  splendid  leaders: 
captains  whose  valor,  whose  prowess,  whose  skill,  whose 
heroic  constancy  were  never  outshone  on  any  field,  in  any 
age,  by  any  leaders  of  men;  not  by  Agamemnon,  "King  of 
Men";  not  by  Achilles,  the  "swift-footed,"  "the  invincible"; 
not  by  Ulysses,  "the  wise";  nor  by  Ajax,  "the  mighty";  not 
by  Miltiades  at  Marathon;  nor  by  Leonidas  himself  at  Ther 
mopylae;  nor  by  any  of  the  long  line  of  illustrious  heroes  and 
patriots  who,  in  ancient  and  in  modern  times,  have  shed 
lustre  on  manhood  by  their  valor  or  by  their  constancy. 
Comrades,  it  is  my  conviction  that  the  Muse  of  History 
will  write  the  names  of  some  of  our  Southern  heroes  as  high 
on  her  great  roll  of  honor  as  those  of  any  leaders  of  men 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  329 

in  any  era.  Fame  herself  will  rise  from  her  throne  to  place 
the  laurel  with  her  own  hands  upon  the  immortal  brows  of 
Robert  E.  Lee,  and  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  and  Stonewall 
Jackson.  I  grant,  indeed,  that  it  is  not  for  us  who  were 
their  companions  and  fellow-soldiers  to  ask  the  world  to 
accept  our  estimate  of  their  rightful  place  in  history.  We 
are  partial,  we  are  biassed  in  our  judgments,  men  will  say. 
Be  it  so.  We  are  content  to  await  the  calm  verdict  of  the 
future  historian,  when,  with  philosophic  impartiality,  the 
characters  and  achievements  and  motives  of  our  illustrious 
leaders  shall  have  been  weighed  in  the  balances  of  Truth. 
What  that  verdict  will  be  is  foreshadowed,  we  believe,  by 
the  judgment  expressed  by  Field-Marshal  Lord  Wolseley, 
who  said,  "I  believe  General  Lee  will  be  regarded  not  only 
as  the  most  prominent  figure  of  the  Confederacy,  but  as  the 
great  American  of  the  nineteenth  century,  whose  statue  is 
well  worthy  to  stand  on  an  equal  pedestal  with  that  of  Wash 
ington,  and  whose  memory  is  equally  worthy  to  be  en 
shrined  in  the  hearts  of  all  his  countrymen."  What  that 
verdict  will  be  was  in  fact  declared  by  Freeman  himself 
when  he  said  that  our  Lee  was  worthy  to  stand  with  Wash 
ington  beside  Alfred  the  Great  in  the  world's  temple  of 
Fame. 

What  you  ask  of  me,  however,  comrades,  in  these  closing 
moments  is  quite  apart  from  the  task  of  the  historian  or 
the  orator.  It  is  simply  to  give  honest  utterance  to  the 
love  and  admiration  that  glow  in  the  breast  of  every  one 
of  us  for  those  our  companion  s-in-arms  who  fell  on  the  almost 
countless  bloody  fields  of  that  Titanic  struggle  in  repelling 
the  invaders  from  our  soil.  All  honor  to  their  memory! 
We  cannot  call  their  names.  They  are  too  numerous  to  be 
told  over,  even  if  we  had  here  the  muster-rolls  of  all  the 
Confederate  armies.  But  if  their  names  could  be  called, 
we  could  answer  as  was  answered  for  that  famous  hero,  La 
Tour  d'Auvergne,  the  "  first  Grenadier  of  France "  —  whose 
name,  though  he  was  no  more,  was  still  borne  on  the  muster- 


330  APPENDIX 

roll  of  his  regiment  —  "Dead  on  the  field  of  honor!"  Only 
two  months  ago  the  urn  containing  the  heart  of  that  illus 
trious  soldier  was  removed  to  Paris  to  rest  under  the  dome 
of  the  Hotel  des  Invalides,  and  while  the  order  rang  out  "  Au 
Drapeau,"  arms  were  presented  and  the  captain  of  the  Forty- 
sixth  Regiment,  in  accordance  with  the  old  tradition,  called 
out  the  name,  "La  Tour  d'Auvergne!"  After  a  second  or 
two  of  silence  the  answer  came  back  in  clear  and  ringing 
tones,  "Dead  on  the  field  of  honor." 

Comrades,  we  make  that  answer  to-day,  forty  years 
after  the  end  of  the  war,  and  our  children  and  chil 
dren's  children  in  generations  to  come  will  repeat  it,  as 
the  names  of  our  veterans  shall  be  called,  —  "Dead  on 
the  field  of  honor!"  Yes,  for  these  men  to  whom  we  pay 
the  tribute  of  our  homage  were  heroes,  if  ever  heroes 
were.  What  hardships  did  they  not  uncomplainingly 
endure,  on  the  march,  in  the  bivouack,  in  the  trenches! 
What  sacrifices  did  they  not  cheerfully  make,  for  a  cause 
dearer  than  life  itself!  What  dangers  did  they  not  face 
with  unquailing  front!  Who  that  ever  saw  them  can  for 
get  those  hardy  battalions  that  followed  Stonewall  Jack 
son  in  his  weird  marches  in  the  great  Valley  campaign? 
Rusty  and  ragged  were  their  uniforms,  but  bright  were  their 
muskets  and  their  bayonets,  and  they  moved  like  the  very 
whirlwind  of  war! 

They  fill,  most  of  them,  nameless  graves.  They  were 
private  soldiers.  Fame  does  not,  and  will  not,  herald  their 
names  and  deeds  to  posterity.  They  fought  without  reward 
—  and  they  died  without  distinction.  It  was  enough  for  them 
to  hear  the  voice  of  duty,  and  to  follow  it,  though  it  led 
them  by  a  rugged  path  to  a  bloody  grave.  "Tell  my  father 
I  tried  to  do  my  duty,"  was  the  last  message  of  many  a  dying 
soldier  boy  to  his  comrades  on  the  field  of  battle.  Oh!  it 
is  for  this  we  honor  and  revere  their  nameless  memories 
to-day.  They  were  not  soldiers  of  fortune,  but  soldiers 
of  duty,  who  dared  all  that  men  can  dare,  and  endured  all 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  331 

that  men  can  endure,  in  obedience  to  what  they  believed  the 
sacred  call  of  country.  If  ever  men  lived  of  whom  it  could 
be  truly  said  that  their  hearts  echoed  the  sentiment,  "  Dulce 
et  decorum  est  pro  patria  mori,"  these  were  the  men.  They 
loved  their  State;  they  loved  their  homes  and  their  firesides. 
They  were  no  politicians.  They  knew  little  of  the  warring 
theories  of  constitutional  interpretation.  But  one  thing 
they  knew  —  armed  legions  were  marching  upon  their  homes, 
and  it  was  their  duty  to  hurl  them  back  at  any  cost!  For 
this,  not  we  only,  who  shared  their  perils  and  hardships,  do 
them  honor  —  not  the  Southern  people  only  —  but  all  brave 
men  everywhere.  Nameless  they  may  be,  but  the  name 
of  " Confederate  soldier"  will  echo  around  the  world  through 
the  coming  years  and  will  be  accepted  as  the  synonym  of 
valor,  of  constancy,  and  of  loyalty  to  the  sternest  call  of 
duty. 

My  comrades,  I  have  been  in  the  Eternal  City,  surrounded 
by  the  deathless  relics  and  monuments  which  commemorate 
the  glorious  achievements  of  the  citizens  and  soldiers  of 
ancient  Rome.  I  have  paced  the  aisles  of  that  stately 
church  in  which  Venice  has  piled  up  the  splendid  memorials 
in  brass  and  in  marble  of  the  men  who  made  her  name  great 
in  Europe  —  who  made  her  to  sit  as  a  queen  upon  her  watery 
throne  among  the  nations.  I  have  stood  under  the  dome 
of  the  Hdtel  des  Invalides,  in  Paris,  on  the  spot  upon  which 
France  has  lavished  with  unstinted  hand  her  wealth  and  her 
art  to  shed  glory  upon  the  name  to  her  greatest  soldier  — 
his  sarcophagus  reposes  upon  a  pavement  of  costly  marbles 
gathered  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe,  and  so  arranged  as 
to  represent  a  Sun  of  Glory  irradiating  the  name  of  the  hero 
of  Marengo,  and  of  the  Pyramids,  of  Jena,  and  of  Auster- 
litz.  And  I  have  meditated  in  awe-struck  silence  beneath 
the  fretted  roof  of  Westminster  Abbey,  surrounded  by  the 
almost  countless  memorial  marbles  which  twenty  genera 
tions  of  Englishmen  have  erected  to  celebrate  the  fame  of 
their  most  illustrious  kings  and  nobles,  soldiers  and  patriots, 


332  APPENDIX 

jurists  and  statesmen,  poets  and  historians,  musicians  and 
dramatists. 

But  on  none  of  these  occasions  have  I  been  so  impressed 
with  the  patriotic  and  unselfish  devotion  that  human  nature 
is  capable  of,  as  when  I  have  contemplated  the  character 
and  the  career  of  the  private  soldiers  of  the  Confederacy. 
Not  for  fame  or  for  reward,  not  for  place  or  rank,  not  lured 
by  ambition,  or  goaded  by  necessity,  but  in  simple  obedience 
to  duty,  as  they  understood  it,  these  men  suffered  all,  sacri 
ficed  all,  dared  all  —  and  died !  No  stately  abbey  will 
ever  cover  their  remains.  Their  dust  will  never  repose 
beneath  fretted  or  frescoed  roof.  No  costly  bronze  will  ever 
blazon  their  names  for  posterity  to  honor  —  but  the  Poto 
mac  and  the  Rappahannock,  the  James  and  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  the  Cumberland  and  the  Tennessee,  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Rio  Grande,  as  they  run  their  long  race  from  the 
mountains  to  the  sea,  will  sing  of  their  prowess  forevermore! 
The  mountains  of  Virginia  and  Tennessee  and  Georgia  will 
stand  eternal  witnesses  of  their  valor,  though  no  Thorwald- 
sen  chisel  on  their  solid  rocks  a  lion  like  that  at  Lucerne, 
stricken  to  the  death,  but  even  in  death,  and  as  its  life-blood 
ebbs  away,  protecting  the  shield  committed  to  its  defence. 

As  I  recall  the  magnificent  valor  of  those  half-fed,  half- 
clad  legions  of  the  Confederacy,  the  thought  comes:  "But 
after  all  they  failed.  The  Confederacy  fell.  The  banner 
of  the  Southern  Cross  sank  to  earth  to  rise  no  more.  All 
the  courage  and  the  constancy  of  those  heroic  souls  could 
not,  or,  at  any  rate,  did  not,  bring  success.  Their  cause  is 
known  to-day  as  'the  lost  cause.'"  Yes,  as  we  remember 
the  superb  but  fruitless  prowess  they  displayed  on  so  many 
fields,  the  words  of  the  poet  recur  to  our  minds: 

"In  vain,  alas!  in  vain  ye  gallant  few, 
From  rank  to  rank  your  volleyed  thunders  flew." 

But  was  it  in  vain?  I  do  not  believe  it.  It  is  true  that 
their  flashing  bayonets  did  not  establish  the  new  Confed- 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  333 

eracy.  It  is  true  that  those  proud  armies  of  Lee  and  John 
ston  were  slowly  worn  away  by  attrition  until,  reduced  to 
gaunt  skeletons  of  what  they  had  been,  they  surrendered 
to  the  vast  hosts  of  the  Union  armies.  But  it  is  not  true 
that  those  gallant  Southrons  suffered  and  died  in  vain. 
No  brave  battle  fought  for  truth  and  right  was  ever  in 
vain!  The  truth  survives,  though  the  soldier  of  the  truth 
perishes.  His  death,  his  defeat,  becomes  the  seed  of  future 
success.  Over  his  dead  body  the  armies  of  the  truth  march 
to  victory.  I  might  say  that  to  have  given,  amid  disaster 
and  defeat,  such  splendid  examples  of  what  American  man 
hood  can  accomplish,  was  enough  to  prove  that  they  did  not 
shed  their  blood  to  no  purpose.  "Being  dead  they  yet  speak." 
They  tell  us  and  our  children  and  children's  children,  that 
courage,  self-sacrifice,  and  loyalty  to  conviction  are  sub 
lime;  they  are  better  than  mere  success;  they  carry  with 
them  their  own  reward.  Death  was  not  too  high  a  price 
to  pay  for  the  exhibition  to  the  world  of  such  heroism  as 
theirs.  That  cannot  die.  It  shines  as  the  stars  with  a 
deathless  light  above  the  sordid  and  selfish  aims  of  men. 
It  will  inspire  generations  to  come  with  noble  ideals  of  un 
selfish  living.  It  is  a  new  example  of  the  profound  words 
of  Jesus:  "He  that  loseth  his  life  shall  find  it." 

It  is  said  that  on  the  spot  where  the  three  devoted  patriots 
of  the  three  Swiss  cantons  met,  by  the  borders  of  Lake 
Lucerne,  and  bound  themselves  in  a  solemn  league  to  rid 
Switzerland  of  the  tyrant's  yoke,  three  fountains  afterward 
sprang  up.  The  legend  embodies  an  eternal  truth.  The 
soil  trodden  by  a  patriot  is  holy  ground,  and,  though  his 
banner  may  go  down  in  disaster,  and  he  himself  perish, 
and  his  cause  be  overwhelmed  by  defeat,  yet  his  memory  and 
his  example  will  remain  a  benediction  to  his  people.  Foun 
tains  of  blessing  spring  up  on  the  sod  consecrated  by  the 
patriot's  sufferings  and  sacrifices  for  his  country. 

Let  us  note,  then,  wherein  they  failed  and  wherein  did 
not  fail.  They  failed  to  establish  the  Southern  Confederacy. 


334  APPENDIX 

Why?  For  no  other  reason  but  this  —  God  decreed  other 
wise.  Yes,  my  comrades,  the  military  genius  of  our  com 
manders  was  not  at  fault,  the  valor  of  the  Confederate 
armies  was  not  at  fault;  but  it  was  God's  will  that  this 
country  should  not  be  divided  into  two  rival  nations,  jealous 
of  each  other;  armed  against  each  other.  It  may  be  said 
they  failed  to  preserve  the  institution  of  slavery.  I  answer 
again  they  did  not  draw  their  swords  to  defend  slavery.  It 
was  the  cause  of  liberty  that  fired  their  souls  to  do,  to  dare, 
and  to  die.  They  conceived  that  the  Federal  Government 
was  trampling  on  the  liberties  of  the  States,  and  they  rose 
in  their  defence.  It  was  the  sacred  heritage  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  freedom,  of  local  self-government  won  at  Runnymede, 
that  they  believed  in  peril  when  they  flew  to  arms  as  one  man 
from  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande.  They  may  have  been 
right,  or  they  may  have  been  wrong,  but  that  was  the  issue 
they  made.  On  that  they  stood.  For  that  they  died. 

That,  be  it  remembered,  was  the  supreme  issue  in  the 
mind  of  the  Southern  soldier.  The  dissolution  of  the  Union 
was  not  what  he  had  chiefly  at  heart.  The  establishment  of 
the  Southern  Confederacy  was  not  what  he  had  chiefly  at  heart. 
Both  the  one  and  the  other  were  secondary  to  the  preservation  of 
the  supreme  and  sacred  right  of  self-government.  They  were 
means  to  the  end,  not  the  end  itself. 

Did  they  fail  then  in  this,  their  supreme  and  ultimate  aim  ? 
I  answer,  they  did  not  fail  to  make  such  a  protest  against  the 
aggressions  of  power  upon  the  province  of  liberty  as  has 
filled  the  world  with  its  echo.  They  did  not  fail  in  success 
fully  arraigning  by  the  potent  voice  of  their  superb  valor 
and  their  all-sacrificing  patriotism  the  usurpation  of  powers 
and  functions  which,  by  the  Constitution,  were  distributed 
to  the  States. 

It  is  my  belief  that  the  close  and  candid  student  of  public 
opinion  in  our  country,  these  forty  years  past,  will  conclude 
that  this  protest  of  theirs  has  not  been  in  vain.  In  spite  of 
the  historians  who  have  misread  the  causes  and  the  objects 


ORATION  AT  NASHVILLE  335 

of  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  South,  the  fact  that  the 
Confederate  soldiers  and  the  people  of  the  South  made  their 
superb  struggle  and  their  marvellous  sacrifices  for  the  right 
of  local  self-government,  has  silently  impressed  the  minds  of 
the  American  people,  with  the  result  that  that  right  has  been 
steadily  gaining  in  the  strength  of  its  hold  upon  the  people 
of  many  of  the  States  of  the  Union.1 

So  convinced  am  I  of  this,  that  I  make  bold  to  predict 
that  the  future  historian  will  say  that  while  the  armies  of 
the  North  saved  the  Union  from  dissolution,  the  armies  of 
the  South  saved  the  rights  of  the  States  within  the  Union. 
Thus  victor  and  vanquished  will  both  be  adjudged  victorious, 
for,  if  it  is  due  to  the  Federal  soldier  that  the  Union  is  hence 
forth  indissoluble,  it  is  equally  due  to  the  Confederate 
soldier  that  this  indissoluble  Union  is  composed,  and  shall 
forever  be  composed,  of  indestructible  States. 

Comrades,  when  I  consider  these  things  I  no  longer  echo, 
as  I  once  did,  the  sentiment  which  Lucan  puts  into  the  mouth 
of  a  great  Roman: 

"  Victrix  causa  diis  placuit, 
sed  victa  Catoni,"* 

for  I  see  that  the  " conquered  right"  has  won  the  victory 
after  all;  the  conquered  banner  triumphs  in  defeat;  the  lost 
cause  is  lost  no  longer,  and  God,  who  denied  us  success  in 
the  way  of  our  own  choosing,  has  granted  it  in  another  and 
better  way. 

Yes,  ye  gallant  defenders  of  our  stainless  Confederate 

1  Members  of  Congress  from  the  South  observed  a  great  change  in 
this  respect  in  the  sentiments  of  their  fellow  members  from  the  North 
and  the  West.     Moreover,  the  limitation  of  the  authority  of  the  Gen 
eral  Government  to  those  powers  distinctly  delegated,  and  the  reserva 
tion  to  the  States  of  the  powers  not  delegated,  has  been  affirmed  again 
and  again  by  the  Supreme  Court  since  the  war. 

2  Rendered  by  Dr.  E.  A.  Washburn  thus: 

"Let  a  conquering  might 
Bribe  all  the  gods  to  silence,  — 
Cato's  choice  be  with  the  conquered  right!" 


336  APPENDIX 

banner,  ye  did  not  die  in  vain!  Your  deeds  have  cast  a 
halo  of  glory  over  our  Southern  land  which  will  only  grow 
brighter  as  time  advances.  Your  memory  will  be  a  price 
less  heritage  which  we  will  transmit  to  our  children's  chil 
dren  untarnished.  None  shall  ever  write  "traitor"  over 
your  graves  unrebuked  by  us,  while  God  gives  us  the  power 
of  speech!  Farewell,  brave  comrades,  farewell,  till  the  tryst 
of  God  beyond  the  river.  The  bugle  has  sounded  "taps" 
over  your  graves.  After  all  these  years  its  pathetic  notes 
still  vibrate  in  our  ears,  reminding  us  that  we  shall  see  your 
faces  no  more  on  earth. 

But  we  clasp  your  dear  memory  to  our  hearts  to-day  once 
more.  Ye  are  "our  dead";  ours  ye  were  in  those  stern  years 
from  1861  to  1865,  when  we  marched  and  camped  and  battled 
side  by  side;  "ours"  by  the  sacred  bond  of  a  common  conse 
cration  to  a  cause  which  was  holy  to  us;  ye  are  "ours"  to-day 
as  we  recall  with  pride  your  cheerful  endurance  of  unaccus 
tomed  hardships  —  your  heroic  steadfastness  in  danger  and 
disaster,  your  magnificent  courage  in  the  deadly  trenches, 
or  at  the  flaming  cannon's  mouth. 

Ye  were  "our  dead"  when  ye  lay  stark  and  stiff  on  the 
bloody  fields  of  Manassas,  of  Winchester,  of  Shiloh,  of  Perry- 
ville,  of  Chickamauga,  of  Fredericksburg,  of  Malvern  Hill, 
of  Chancellorsville,  of  Sharpsburg,  of  Gettysburg,  of  the 
Wilderness!  Ye  will  be  "ours"  again  when  the  last  great 
reveille  shall  sound,  and  the  brothers  whom  the  fortunes  of 
battle  divided  shall  be  reunited  in  the  better  land! 


GENERAL  J.  E.  B.  STUART  IN  THE  GETTYSBURG 
CAMPAIGN 

A  REPLY  TO  COLONEL  JOHN  S.  MOSBYI 

By  RANDOLPH  HARRISON  McKiM,  late  First  Lieutenant  and 
A.  D.  C.  Third  Brigade,  General  Edward  Johnson's 
Division,  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 

Col.  John  S.  Mosby,  the  brave  and  able  commander  of  a 
famous  partisan  corps  in  Virginia  during  the  Civil  War,  has 
published  a  book  in  exposition  of  the  part  borne  by  Gen.  J.  E. 
B.  Stuart's  cavalry  in  the  Gettysburg  campaign,  and  in 
defence  of  that  heroic  officer  from  the  unfavorable  criticism 
passed  on  his  course  in  that  campaign.2  The  splendid 
services  of  Jeb  Stuart  to  the  Southern  cause  are  written 
on  the  heart  of  the  Southern  people;  and  his  superb  leader 
ship  in  that  brilliant,  though  mistaken,  raid  round  the 
Federal  Army  between  June  27th  and  July  1st,  and,  later, 
his  invaluable  service  on  the  retreat  from  Gettysburg,  are, 
I  think,  universally  acknowledged.  They  were  long  ago 
celebrated,  among  others,  by  General  Fitzhugh  Lee  in  his 
description  of  the  Gettysburg  campaign  contained  in  his 
life  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee,  pp.  265-2G6.3  The  most  brilliant 
cavalry  officer  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  did  not 

1  An  address  delivered  before  the  Lee  Camp  Confederate  Veterans, 
Richmond,  Va.,  Jan.  21,  1910. 

2  "Stuart's    Cavalry    in    the    Gettysburg    campaign,"    1908.     He 
also  published  in  November,  1908,  an  article  on  the  same  subject  in 
the  "  Journal  of  the  Military  Service  Institution,"  to  which  I  replied 
in  the  same  journal,  May,  1910. 

3  It  is  remarkable  that  Colonel  Mosby  should  include  Gen.  Fitz  Lee 

337 


338  APPENDIX 

have  to  wait  for  Colonel  Mosby  to  sing  his  praises  in  the 
year  1908. 

But  there  have  been,  and  are,  many  of  the  soldiers  of 
Lee,  who,  though  they  yield  to  none  in  their  admiration 
of  General  Stuart,  nevertheless  are  of  opinion  that  he 
made  several  serious  errors  of  judgment  in  the  Gettysburg 
campaign,  and  that  these  contributed  not  a  little  to  the 
Confederate  failure.  Unfortunately,  these  recent  publi 
cations  of  Colonel  Mosby  are  of  such  a  character  that  it 
is  necessary  to  reopen  this  painful  subject,  and  to  speak  as 
plainly  as  that  writer  has  done.  This  is  the  more  necessary 
because  his  argument  is  so  plausible,  and  is  stated  with 
so  much  dialectical  skill,  that  only  the  very  careful  reader 
is  likely  to  detect  its  fallacies. 

Colonel  Mosby  first  impeaches  the  accuracy  of  both  of 
General  Lee's  Reports  of  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg  (of 
July  31st,  1863,  and  January,  1864)  in  several  important 
statements  made  therein;  viz.:  1.  That  General  Lee  was  in 
ignorance  of  Hooker's  movements  until  the  night  of  June 
28th,  1863,  when  General  Longstreet's  scout  reported  his 
army  approaching  South  Mountain;  2.  That  General  Lee 
then,  and  therefore,  changed  his  plan  and  ordered  his 
army  to  concentrate  east  of  South  Mountain;  3.  That 
it  had  been  Lee's  intention  to  concentrate  at  Harrisburg 
and  that  he  ordered  Hill  and  Longstreet  to  that  place 
after  reaching  Chambersburg;  4.  That  "the  absence  of 
the  cavalry  rendered  it  impossible  to  obtain  accurate  in 
formation"  of  the  movements  and  position  of  the  Federal 
Army. 

This  serious  impeachment  of  General  Lee's  accuracy  in 
regard  to  the  particulars  of  his  own  campaign  is  largely 

among  those  who  have  thrown  the  blame  of  the  Gettysburg  campaign 
on  Stuart.  For  General  Lee  says:  "This  officer  has  been  unjustly 
criticised  for  not  being  in  front  of  Lee's  army  at  Gettysburg,  but  Lee 
and  Longstreet  must  be  held  responsible  for  his  route."  ("Life  of 
General  Lee, "  p.  265.) 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG      339 

based  on  a  letter  taken  from  General  Lee's  Official  Letter 
Book,  and  dated  at  Chambersburg,  June  28th,  7.30  A.M., 
in  which  General  Lee  says  to  General  Ewell: 

"I  wrote  you  last  night  stating  that  General  Hooker  was 
reported  to  have  crossed  the  Potomac  and  is  advancing  by 
way  of  Middletown,  the  head  of  his  column  being  at  that 
point  in  Frederick  County.  I  directed  you  in  my  letter  to 
move  your  forces  to  this  point." 

Colonel  Mosby  declares  that  this  letter  refutes  "  every 
word"  of  the  statements  of  General  Longstreet,  Colonel 
Marshall,  General  Long,  Colonel  Walter  Taylor,  General 
Fitz  Lee,  and  General  Lee's  own  report  in  regard  to  the 
campaign  in  the  particulars  above  named.  He  further  says 
that  General  Swell's  and  General  Early's  reports  show  that 
the  movement  against  Harrisburg  was  arrested  on  June 
27th,  and  thus  agree  with  the  statements  of  the  letter  of 
June  28th,  which  he  quotes. 

Now  I  affirm,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  reports  of  Ewell 
and  Early  are  irreconcilable  with  the  accuracy  of  the  date 
of  this  famous  letter.  Nobody  can  reconcile  this  letter, 
as  dated  (June  28th,  7.30  A.M.),  with  the  indisputable 
facts  of  the  campaign.  The  genuineness  of  the  letter  is 
undisputed — it  is  in  the  well-known  handwriting  of  Colonel 
Venable,  of  Lee's  staff  —  but  the  accuracy  of  the  date  is 
called  in  question.  Suppose  it  to  have  been  written  on 
June  29th,  and  it  is  then  in  complete  harmony  with  Gen 
eral  Lee's  report,  with  the  statements  of  his  staff  on  the 
points  at  issue,  and  with  the  reports  of  General  Long- 
street,  General  Ewell,  and  General  Early. 

Now  this  famous  letter  turns  out  to  have  been  copied  in 
the  letter  book  of  General  Lee  from  memory,  by  Col.  Charles 
Venable.  It  is  marked  thus:  "From  memory  —  sketch  of 
a  letter," 

It  is  not  the  original  letter.  It  was  copied  afterward 
some  time  before  July  1st  —  the  date  of  the  next  letter.  It 
cannot  therefore  have  the  same  authority  as  the  original 


340  APPENDIX 

would  have.  Especially  on  the  question  of  date,  it  is  more 
liable  to  error.  Let  us  now  suppose  that  there  was  a  mistake 
in  the  date,  and  that  it  should  have  been  dated  "June  29th, 
7.30  A.M.,"  instead  of  June  28th,  7.30  A.M."  l  Then  the 
first  order  to  Ewell  to  march  back  from  Carlisle  written 
"last  night"  would  be  dated  June  28th,  not  June  27th. 

If  this  hypothesis  harmonizes  with  the  reports  of  Ewell 
and  Lee  and  with  the  dates  when  the  divisions  of  the  Third 
Corps  began  their  march  to  Cashtown,  then  the  probability 
of  its  correctness  becomes  very  strong. 

It  seems  to  me  it  does  thus  harmonize. 

Consider  that  such  a  despatch  was  of  supreme  importance, 
and  would  therefore  be  sent  as  fast  as  a  courier  could  carry 
it.  Colonel  Marshall  testifies  that  it  was  long  after  ten  P.M., 
June  28th,  when  he  found  General  Lee  in  conference  with 
the  scout  who  brought  the  intelligence  of  Hooker's  move 
ments.  Even  if  the  despatch  was  not  sent  until  midnight, 
General  Ewell  might  easily  have  received  it  by  six  in  the 
morning,  for  it  is,  as  Colonel  Mosby  reminds  us,  only  thirty 
miles  from  Chambersburg  to  Carlisle. 

Now,  if  it  was  written  on  the  27th,  and  received  by  Ewell 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  why  did  Gen.  Edward 
Johnson's  division  not  receive  orders  to  march  back  south 
ward  from  Carlisle  till  nine  A.M.,  on  the  29th,  as  my  diary 
proves?  (I  was  a  staff  officer  in  Johnson's  division  and 
kept  a  careful  diary  of  the  campaign.)  But,  if  it  was  written 
on  the  28th,  despatched  at  midnight,  and  received  by  Ewell 
by  six  or  seven  A.M.,  of  the  29th,  orders  to  Gen.  Edward 
Johnson  and  to  General  Rodes  might  well  have  been  issued 
as  early  as  nine  A.M. 

Again,  if  Ewell  received  the  order  on  the  morning  of  the 
29th,  it  exactly  harmonizes  with  his  statement  in  his  report 
that  he  "was  starting  on  the  29th"  for  Harrisburg  "when 
ordered  by  the  general  commanding  to  join  the  main 

1  Since  writing  the  above  I  have  learned  that  Colonel  Stribling 
has  made  a  similar  suggestion,  but  I  have  not  yet  seen  his  paper. 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG      341 

body  of  the  army."  He  says,  "I  was  starting  on  the  29th 
for  that  place  when  ordered  by  the  general  commanding 
to  join  the  main  body  of  the  army  at  Cashtown." 

Again,  it  appears  that  Johnson's  reserve  artillery  and 
trains  were  passing  through  Chambersburg  after  midnight 
of  the  29th.  Mr.  Jacob  Hoke,  Mosby's  authority,  says  it 
was  between  one  and  two  A.M.  From  this  Colonel  Mosby 
infers  they  "must  have  started  on  the  evening  of  the  28th." 
But  why?  If  they  had  started  at  nine  or  ten  A.M.,  on  the 
29th,  could  not  the  head  of  the  train  have  covered  thirty 
miles  and  reached  Chambersburg  by  one  or  two  hours  after 
midnight?  Thirty  miles  in  sixteen  hours  is  not  at  all 
extraordinary,  especially  in  an  emergency.  Mr.  Hoke, 
whom  Mosby  cites  as  a  witness,  says  the  trains  were 
moving  "hurriedly"  —  "at  a  trot."  This  shows  they  were 
making  a  forced  march.1 

Turn  now  to  Early's  report.  He  says  that  on  the  evening 
of  the  29th  he  received  General  EwelPs  instructions  to  move 
back  to  the  west  side  of  South  Mountain,  together  with  a 
copy  of  Lee's  order  to  him  —  evidently  the  first  order. 
Now  if  my  hypothesis  is  correct,  and  if  Ewell  received  Lee's 
letter  in  the  early  hours  of  the  29th,  what  was  to  prevent 
Capt.  Elliott  Johnson  from  riding  from  Carlisle  to  York,  a  dis 
tance  of  thirty-six  miles,  as  Colonel  Mosby  points  out,  between 
eight  A.M.  and  five  P.M.?  I  myself  rode  for  Gen.  Geo.  H. 
Steuart  fifty  miles  by  daylight  on  June  23rd,  in  Pennsyl 
vania.  But  on  the  supposition  that  Ewell  received  that 
famous  letter  and  order  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  how 
can  we  account  for  the  fact  that  Early  did  not  receive 
Swell's  order  till  the  evening  of  the  29th? 

I  submit  that  these  facts  make  it  beyond  contradiction 
that  there  is  an  error  in  the  date  of  the  letter  as  it  was  copied 
from  memory.  The  supposition  that  General  Lee  sent 

1  If  this  was  the  artillery  of  Col.  Snowden  Andrews,  that  was  camped 
five  miles  south  of  Carlisle,  so  that  it  had  only  twenty-five  miles  to 
march  to  Ghambersburg. 


342  APPENDIX 

that  letter  to  Ewell  on  the  night  of  June  27th  bristles  with 
improbabilities.  There  is  the  improbability  that  Lee  would 
have  waited  till  the  30th  to  order  Hill  and  Longstreet  to 
march  to  Cashtown.  There  is  the  improbability  that  an 
order  of  such  importance  would  not  be  despatched  with  due 
military  expedition.  Its  omission  from  Lee's  letter  book 
is  suggestive  of  haste.  It  was  written  at  night,  and  would 
seem  to  have  been  despatched  at  once  without  taking  time 
to  copy  it  in  the  letter  book.  This  increases  the  improba 
bility  that  it  would  not  be  sent  post  haste  to  Ewell. 

Then  there  is  the  improbability  that  Ewell,  having  received 
so  supremely  important  an  order,  should  have  put  off  its 
execution  for  twenty-four  hours  —  from  the  morning  of 
the  28th  to  the  morning  of  the  29th.  Again,  there  is  the 
improbability  that  he  should  have  waited  twenty-four  hours 
before  he  sent  his  staff  officer  to  transmit  General  Lee's 
order  to  General  Early  at  York.  Then,  finally,  there  is  the 
improbability  that  General  Longstreet  and  Colonel  Taylor 
and  Colonel  Marshall  and  General  Long  and  General  Lee 
himself  should  all  have  believed  and  stated  that  the  news 
of  the  proximity  of  Hooker  should  have  been  brought  by 
a  scout  on  the  28th,  if  the  fact  was  really  known  on  the  27th. 

Colonel  Mosby's  whole  argument  on  this  point  hinges 
on  the  accuracy  of  the  date  of  the  letter  or  rather  "sketch 
of  a  letter"  written  down  from  memory.  It  appears  to 
me  immensely  more  likely  that  Colonel  Venable  made  a 
mistake  of  date  in  writing  that  sketch  of  Lee's  letter  than 
that  all  the  improbabilities  I  have  enumerated  should  have 
occurred. 

Colonel  Mosby  says:  "Nobody  can  reconcile  this  letter 
with  Lee's  report."  Neither  can  anybody  reconcile  this 
letter,  as  dated,  with  the  facts  of  the  campaign  as  reflected 
in  the  reports  of  Ewell  and  Early.  Either  Colonel  Venable 
in  writing  the  letter  from  memory  made  a  mistake  in  dating 
it  the  28th,  or  General  Lee  and  General  Longstreet  and 
General  Long  and  Colonel  Marshall  and  Colonel  Taylor 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG     343 

were  all  mistaken  in  the  belief  that  the  change  in  the  plans 
of  the  campaign  was  due  to  the  arrival  of  a  scout  on  the 
night  of  the  28th.  Which  is  the  more  likely  supposition? 
If  it  was  written  on  the  29th,  it  is  in  complete  harmony 
with  General  Lee's  report.  But  even  if  it  were  granted 
that  Lee  knew  on  the  27th  of  June  that  Hooker  had  crossed 
the  Potomac,  that  fact  would  not  advance  one  step  the 
contention  of  Colonel  Mosby  that  Lee  had  no  need  of 
Stuart's  cavalry  with  his  army  during  those  critical  days 
from  June  27th  to  July  1st. 

In  order  to  confirm  his  denial  that  General  Lee  intended 
to  concentrate  his  army  at  Harrisburg,  Colonel  Mosby 
points  to  the  fact  that  A.  P.  Hill's  corps  was  turned  east 
ward  on  its  arrival  at  Chambersburg  and  camped  near 
Fayetteville.  This,  he  thinks,  conclusive  against  any  such 
intention.  But  General  Hill  in  his  report  says  ("Rebellion 
Records,"  Vol.  XXVII,  pt.  2,  p.  606): 

"On  the  morning  of  June  29th,  the  Third  Corps  - 
was  encamped  on  the  road  from  Chambersburg  to  Gettys 
burg,  near  the  village  of  Fayetteville.  I  was  directed  to 
move  on  this  road  in  the  direction  of  York,  and  to  cross  the 
Susquehanna,  menacing  the  communications  of  Harrisburg 
with  Philadelphia,  and  to  cooperate  with  General  Ewell." 
These  doubtless  were  the  orders  written  by  Colonel  Marshall 
the  night  of  the  28th  of  June. 

General  Early  also  in  his  report  says  it  had  been  his 
intention  to  cross  the  Susquehanna  by  the  bridge  at  Wrights- 
ville  and  move  up  the  left  bank  of  that  river  against  Harris 
burg. 

Thus  General  Early,  General  Hill,  and  General  Ewell 
all  testify  that  they  had  been  ordered  to  move  against  Harris 
burg;  yet  Colonel  Mosby  asserts  that  Lee  had  no  such 
plan,  though  it  is  stated  in  both  his  reports,  as  well  as  by 
his  staff  officers. 

It  may  be  granted  that  there  are  certain  inaccuracies  in 
the  reports  of  the  battle  signed  by  General  Lee,  but  it  is 


344  APPENDIX 

asking  too  much  of  our  credulity  to  have  us  suppose  that 
General  Lee  did  not  know  when  and  why  he  changed  his 
plan  of  campaign  at  Chambersburg.  There  are  also  inac 
curacies  in  General  Stuart's  report,  as  when  he  says  that 
General  Lee  informed  him  it  was  likely  one  column  of  the 
army  would  move  through  Gettysburg,  the  other  through 
Carlisle.  What  General  Lee  wrote  was  that  one  column 
would  move  through  Emmitsburg,  the  other  through 
Chambersburg. 


And  now  as  to  the  second,  and  main,  point  of  Colonel 
Mosby's  contention  that  Gen.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  acted  in 
strict  accordance  with  General  Lee's  instructions  between 
the  23d  of  June  and  the  2d  of  July.  What  were  General 
Lee's  instructions  to  General  Stuart?  He  wrote  to  Ewell 
that  he  had  instructed  General  Stuart  "to  march  with 
three  brigades  across  the  Potomac  and  place  himself  on 
your  right  and  in  communication  with  you,  keep  you  advised 
of  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  and  assist  in  collecting 
supplies  for  the  army."  To  General  Stuart  himself  Lee 
wrote  on  June  22d,  "You  can  move  with  the  other  three 
(brigades)  into  Maryland  and  take  position  on  General 
EwelPs  right,  place  yourself  in  communication  with  him, 
guard  his  flank,  keep  him  informed  of  the  enemy's  movements 
and  collect  all  the  supplies  you  can  for  the  use  of  the  army. 
One  column  of  Ewell's  army  will  probably  move  toward 
the  Susquehanna  by  the  Emmittsburg  route,  another  by 
Chambersburg." 

[Observe  that  when  General  Lee  gave  General  Stuart 
this  order  to  take  position  on  General  Ewell's  right,  that 
officer  was  just  leaving  Hagerstown.  In  his  report  ("  Rebel 
lion  Records,"  Vol.  XXVII,  pt.  2,  p.  443)  he  says  that  on 
June  22d  he  "received  orders  from  the  commanding  general 
to  take  Harrisburg,  and  next  morning  Rodes  and  Johnson 
commenced  their  march  into  Pennsylvania."] 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG     345 

This  order  was  repeated  in  a  letter  to  General  Stuart 
dated  June  23,  a  part  of  which  I  quote: 

HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA, 

June  23,  1863,  3.30  P.M. 
Major-General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  Commanding  Cavalry: 

General,  .  .  . 

If  General  Hooker's  army  remains  inactive  you  can  leave 
two  brigades  to  watch  him,  and  withdraw  with  the  three 
others,  but  should  he  not  appear  to  be  moving  northward, 
I  think  you  had  better  withdraw  this  side  of  the  mountain 
to-morrow  night,  cross  at  Shepherdstown  next  day,  and 
move  over  to  Fredericktown. 

You  will,  however,  be  able  to  judge  whether  you  can  pass 
around  their  army  without  hindrance,  doing  them  all  the 
damage  you  can,  and  cross  the  river  east  of  the  mountains. 
In  either  case,  after  crossing  the  river,  you  must  move  on 
and  feel  the  right  of  Ewell's  troops,  collecting  information, 
provisions,  etc. 

Give  instructions  to  the  commander  of  the  brigades 
left  behind  to  watch  the  flank  and  rear  of  the  army,  and 
(in  the  event  of  the  enemy  leaving  their  front)  retire  from 
the  mountains  west  of  the  Shenandoah,  leaving  sufficient 
pickets  to  guard  the  passes,  and  bringing  everything  clean 
along  the  valley,  closing  upon  the  rear  of  the  army. 

I  am  very  respectfully  and  truly  yours, 
(Signed)  R.  E.  LEE,  General. 

Thus,  in  the  very  last  communication  received  by  General 
Stuart  from  General  Lee,  the  order  was  emphatically 
given  that  as  soon  as  he  crossed  the  river,  he  should  place 
his  command  on  Swell's  right  and  march  with  him  toward 
the  Susquehanna. 

The  commanding  general  indicated  Frederick  as  Stuart's 
first  objective,  and  he  thought  he  had  better  cross  the  river 
at  Shepherdstown,  but  gave  him  the  option  of  crossing 


346  APPENDIX 

east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  if  he  could  do  so  without  hindrance. 
General  Stuart  found  Hooker's  army  in  the  way  — a 
big  "hindrance"  surely  —  but  yet  chose  to  cross  east  of 
the  Ridge,  thus  cutting  himself  off  from  both  Ewell  and 
Lee. 

Now,  the  first  question  is,  Did  General  Stuart  carry  out 
the  above  instruction  and  do  these  things?  The  history 
of  the  campaign  shows  that  he  did  none  of  these  things. 
He  was  not  on  Swell's  right  in  the  march  toward  the  Sus- 
quehanna;  he  did  not  guard  his  flank;  he  did  not  keep  him 
advised  of  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  The  second 
question  is,  Did  General  Lee  give  Stuart  discretion  to  take 
such  a  route  as,  in  the  event,  prevented  his  carrying  out 
these  instructions?  Was  he  allowed  to  cross  the  Potomac 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  pass  "by  the  enemy's  rear," 
and  so  find  himself  in  such  a  position  that  he  could  not  carry 
out  those  instructions? 

Now  Colonel  Mosby  here  puts  a  gloss  on  the  record,  and 
represents  that  General  Lee  instructed  General  Stuart 
to  "move  into  Pennsylvania  and  join  Ewell  on  the  Susque- 
hanna."  (Page  88.)  Throughout  the  whole  discussion  he 
again  and  again  represents  General  Lee's  order  in  this  way, 
as  an  order  to  proceed  to  the  Susquehanna  and  join  General 
Ewell.  (Pages  89,  91,  154,  180.) 

But  this  is  not  what  General  Lee  ordered  him  to  do,  but 
to  place  himself  on  EwelPs  right  in  the  latter's  movement 
"toward  the  Susquehanna"  to  guard  his  flank  and  keep 
him  informed  of  the  enemy's  movement.  Colonel  Mosby 
eliminates  all  this  and  represents  the  order  received  by 
General  Stuart  to  be  to  "join  Ewell  on  the  Susquehanna" 
and  then  "act  as  Ewell's  chief  of  cavalry."  (Page  89.) 
Again,  "  Lee  had  informed  Stuart  that  he  would  find  Ewell 
on  the  Susquehanna."  (Page  180.) 

Lee  had  done  nothing  of  the  kind.  I  submit  that  this 
is  a  complete  misreading,  or  misstatement,  of  General 
Lee's  instructions.  Though  General  Lee  and  General 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG      347 

Longstreet  both  suggested  that  Stuart  should  cross  east  of 
the  Blue  Ridge  and  pass  in  the  rear  of  Hooker's  army,  it  was 
evidently  the  intention  that  he  should,  as  soon  as  possible, 
connect  with  General  Ewell  in  his  northward  march  "toward 
the  Susquehanna."  General  Stuart  himself  says  in  his 
report  that  he  was  directed  "to  proceed  with  all  despatch 
to  join  the  right  of  the  army  in  Pennsylvania." 

In  his  zeal  to  justify  General  Stuart,  Colonel  Mosby 
has  misread,  and  so  misstated,  the  records.  Such  careless 
ness  in  a  crucial  point  like  this  is  inexcusable. 

Here  let  it  be  noted  that,  in  order  to  interpret  correctly 
the  meaning  and  intent  of  General  Lee's  communications 
to  General  Stuart  in  those  critical  days,  June  22-24,  it  is 
essential  to  place  before  the  mind's  eye  the  situation  of  the 
two  armies  at  the  time.  General  Stuart  in  his  report  says: 

"I  submitted  to  the  commanding  general  the  plan  of 
leaving  a  brigade  or  so  in  my  present  front,  and,  passing 
through  Hopewell  or  some  other  gap  in  the  Bull  Run  Moun 
tains,  attain  the  enemy's  rear,  passing  between  his  main 
body  and  Washington,  and  cross  into  Maryland,  joining 
our  army  north  of  the  Potomac.  The  commanding  general 
wrote  me  authorizing  this  move  if  I  deemed  it  practicable." 

Now,  at  the  time  of  this  correspondence,  Swell's  corps, 
whose  right  flank  Stuart  was  "to  guard,"  was  just  beginning 
its  march  northward  from  Hagerstown,  and  General  Hooker's 
army  was  in  Virginia.  General  Stuart's  plan,  then,  con 
templated  passing  round  General  Hooker's  rear,  while  his 
army  was  still  south  of  the  Potomac;  and  General  Lee's 
authorization  contemplated  that,  and  that  only.  It  did  not 
authorize  Stuart  to  carry  out  his  plan  of  passing  round 
the  enemy's  rear  after  the  enemy  had  transferred  his  army 
to  the  north  side  of  the  Potomac.  Colonel  Mosby  confirms 
this  view,  for  he  says  (p.  212):  "The  orders  contemplated 
Stuart's  crossing  the  Potomac  in  advance  of  both  armies." 

And  General  Stuart's  plan,  proposed  to  General  Lee, 
and  to  which  he  understood  General  Lee  agreed,  was,  to 


348  APPENDIX 

use  the  words  of  his  report,  "to  cross  into  Maryland,  joining 
our  army  north  of  the  Potomac."  He  gives  no  intimation 
that  he  understood  that  he  was  to  join  Ewell  "on  the  Sus- 
quehanna,"  as  Colonel  Mosby  states  the  case.  General 
Stuart  also  tells  us  that  General  Lee  "directed  me,  after 
crossing,  to  proceed  with  all  despatch  to  join  the  right  of 
the  army  in  Pennsylvania." 

Colonel  Mosby  himself  says:  "The  object  was  to  go  the 
most  direct  route  to  Ewell."  (Page  212.) 

Precisely  here  was  the  error  of  judgment  committed  by 
the  gallant  Stuart  —  he  did  not  keep  in  view  the  main 
object  of  his  expedition,  which  was  to  cooperate  with  Ewell 
in  his  march  from  the  Maryland  line  to  Harrisburg.  This, 
the  first  and  principal  duty  imposed  upon  the  chief  of  cavalry 
by  the  commanding  general,  was  subordinated  to  the  sec 
ondary  and  incidental  object  of  damaging  General  Hooker's 
communications  and  making  a  raid  around  his  army. 

When  General  Stuart  discovered  that  the  Federal  Army 
was  moving  to  cross  the  Potomac,  which  it  did  three  days 
before  he  crossed  at  Seneca  Ford,  two  things  should  have 
been  considered  by  him,  first,  that  the  reason  given  by 
General  Longstreet  for  the  suggestion  that  he  should  pass 
in  the  rear  of  the  Federal  Army  (viz.,  that  his  passage  of  the 
Potomac  by  Shepherdstown  "would  disclose  our  plans")  no 
longer  existed,  for  evidently  the  enemy  had  discovered  Lee's 
northern  movement  and  were  following  him;  and,  second, 
that  General  Lee's  permission  to  pass  around  the  rear  of 
the  Federal  Army  did  not  apply  to  the  situation  now 
developed  when  the  Federal  Army  had  left  Virginia.  He 
had  permission  to  make  that  movement  only  if  there  was 
no  "hindrance"  in  the  way.  To  take  that  course  now  (after 
June  25th)  would  completely  prevent  the  main  object  of 
his  expedition,  which  was  to  "join  the  right  of  the  army  in 
Pennsylvania"  on  its  march  "toward  the  Susquehanna." 

These  observations  receive  support  from  the  comment 
of  an  able  and  accomplished  military  critic,  Captain  Cecil 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG     349 

Battine.  In  his  " Crisis  of  the  Confederacy"  (1905)  he 
says,  referring  to  General  Stuart's  raid: 

"By  the  light  of  what  happened,  it  may  now  be  said  that 
the  raid  was  a  mistake,  and  especially  when  Stuart  found 
the  Federal  Army  to  be  moving  northward  did  he  commit 
an  error  of  judgment  in  attempting  to  traverse  its  lines 
of  communication,  thus  severing  his  connection  with  Lee 
at  the  crisis  of  the  campaign."  (Page  156.) 

"Balancing  what  might  be  gained  against  what  was  certain 
to  be  lost  for  the  invading  army  by  the  absence  of  the  best 
half  of  the  cavalry  with  its  distinguished  chief,  the  same 
judgment  must  be  made  as  Jackson  pronounced  on  Stone- 
man's  raid  six  weeks  earlier."  (Page  158.) 

"  Having  acquired  this  knowledge  (that  the  Federal  Army 
was  marching  north),  Stuart  would  certainly  have  done 
well  to  have  marched  up  the  right  bank  of  the  Potomac  and 
so  made  sure  of  rejoining  the  army,  but  his  character  was 
not  one  to  lightly  abandon  an  enterprise  which  he  had 
once  undertaken."  (Page  160.) 

Colonel  Henderson,  the  distinguished  author  of  the  "  Life 
of  Stonewall  Jackson,"  is  of  the  same  opinion.  He  says: 
"  Stuart  forgot  for  once  that  to  cover  the  march  of  the  army 
and  to  send  in  timely  information  are  services  of  far  greater 
importance  than  cutting  the  enemy's  communications  and 
harassing  his  rear."  ("The  Science  of  War,"  p.  303.) 

It  must  also  be  acknowledged,  I  think,  that  Stuart  erred 
in  judgment  again  in  the  course  he  took  after  he  had  brought 
his  five  thousand  horsemen  across  the  Potomac  during  the 
night  of  June  27th.  Instead  of  proceeding  "with  all  des 
patch"  to  join  Ewell,  he  stopped  to  break  up  the  canal,  to 
intercept  and  capture  boats  (at  least  a  dozen  of  them),  and 
burn  them.  He  also  captured  a  great  wagon  train  and 
"took  it  along."  Some  of  the  teamsters  were  chased  into 
the  suburbs  of  Washington.  That  was  on  the  morning  of 
the  28th.  These  proceedings  consumed  valuable  time  that 
should  have  been  devoted  to  marching  to  Ewell.  By  that 


350  APPENDIX 

time  Lee  was  at  Chambersburg  and  Ewell  had  already 
been  one  day  at  Carlisle.  Was  it  not  Stuart's  duty  to 
make  all  speed  to  overtake  Ewell,  as  three  precious  days 
had  been  lost?  And  could  he  do  this  encumbered  by  cap 
tured  wagon  trains?  It  is  about  seventy-five  or  eighty 
miles  from  Seneca  Ford  to  York,  which  could  readily  have 
been  covered  by  Stuart's  horsemen  in  two  marches  if  that 
was  his  objective.  He  knew  that  Hooker  had  crossed  the 
Potomac  and  was  marching  northward.  Then  would  it 
not  seem  that  his  supreme  purpose  should  have  been  to 
march  day  and  night  and  to  place  himself  in  communication 
with  Ewell,  and  be  at  hand  for  whatever  service  his  cavalry 
could  render?  He  does  not  seem  to  have  been  of  that 
opinion,  for  he  had  only  gone  as  far  as  Westminster  by  the 
evening  of  the  29th.  Now  Westminster  is  about  fifty  miles 
or  less  from  Seneca  Ford,  where  he  had  crossed.  Had  he 
pressed  on,  the  morning  of  the  28th,  he  could  easily  have 
reported  to  General  Early  at  York  (thirty  miles  farther) 
before  nightfall  of  the  29th,  not  long  after  that  officer 
received  orders  to  march  to  Cashtown,  or  certainly  before 
daybreak  of  the  30th.  In  either  case  he  would  not  have 
made  the  fruitless  march  to  Carlisle  on  July  the  1st,  but 
would  have  marched  with  Early  on  the  30th,  and  would 
almost  certainly  have  been  interposed  between  the  enemy 
and  the  infantry  of  Early  and  Hill,  and  would  thus  probably 
have  prevented  the  battle  from  being  precipitated  by  Hill 
on  the  morning  of  July  1st.  Since  writing  the  above,  I 
find  that  Colonel  Henderson  reached  the  same  conclusion. 
(See  his  "Science  of  War,"  p.  289.) 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  march  of  Stuart's  horse 
men  was  seriously  impeded  by  the  captured  wagon  train 
which  he  "took  along."  l  Colonel  Mosby  admits  (page  191) 

1  This  is  also  the  judgment  of  Gen.  E.  P.  Alexander,  who  says  (page 
375):  "In  saving  a  large  number  of  wagons  instead  of  burning  them, 
and  in  delaying  twelve  hours  to  parole  his  prisoners  instead  of  bringing 
along  the  officers  and  letting  the  men  go,  Stuart  committed  fatal 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG      351 

that  he  might  have  reached  York  on  the  30th  instead  of 
July  the  1st,  if  he  had  burned  the  wagons.  He  crossed  the 
river  the  night  of  the  27th,  and  York  is  about  eighty  miles 
from  the  ford.  More  important  is  the  statement  of  General 
Stuart  himself  in  his  report  in  more  than  one  place.  Thus, 
on  page  695,  "Rebellion  Records,"  Vol.  XVII,  he  says, 
speaking  of  the  engagement  at  Hanover: 

"If  my  command  had  been  well  closed  now,  this  cavalry 
column  would  have  been  at  our  mercy;  but,  owing  to  the 
great  elongation  of  the  column,  by  reason  of  the  200  wagons 
and  hilly  roads,  Hampton  was  a  long  way  behind,  and  Lee 
was  not  yet  heard  from  on  the  left." 

Again,  on  page  696,  he  says: 

"Our  wagon  train  was  now  a  subject  of  serious  embarrass 
ment,  but  I  thought  by  making  a  de*tour  of  the  right  by 
Jefferson,  I  could  save  it." 

Two  possibilities  were  eliminated  by  the  drag  put  on 
General  Stuart's  column  by  the  captured  wagon  train: 
1.  But  for  the  delay  thus  occasioned  he  might  have  marched 
from  Westminster  to  Gettysburg  by  Littletown,  as  appar 
ently  he  hoped  to  do,  for  he  could  have  reached  West 
minster  certainly  by  the  morning  of  the  29th,  instead  of 
at  sundown  (for  that  place  is  only  forty-five  or  fifty 
miles  from  Seneca  ford),  and  at  that  earlier  hour  he  prob 
ably  would  not  have  found  the  Federal  cavalry  on  that  road.1 
That  cavalry  reached  Littletown  during  the  night  of  the  29th. 

blunders."  And  he  adds,  "The  delay  caused  to  subsequent  marches 
by  the  long  wagon  train,  and  the  embarrassment  of  protecting  it,  was 
responsible  for  the  loss  of  time,  which  made,  on  the  whole,  a  sad  failure 
of  the  expedition." 

JIn  his  report  General  Stuart  says  he  reached  Westminster  at 
five  P.M.  and  camped  at  Union  Mills,  midway  between  Westminster 
and  Littletown,  on  the  Gettysburg  road  (page  695).  Scouts  reported 
that  the  Federal  cavalry  had  reached  Littletown  during  the  night. 
But  for  this  it  would  appear  Stuart  would  have  marched  to  Gettysburg. 
Instead  he  marched  to  Hanover.  General  Kilpatrick  in  his  report 
says  "Stuart  was  making  for  Littletown." 


352  APPENDIX 

2.  Had  he  decided  instead  to  press  on  through  Hanover  to 
York  he  would  have  been  able  to  effect  a  junction  with  Gen 
eral  Early  at  York  by  the  evening  of  the  29th,  or  the  early 
morning  of  the  30th,  and  his  superb  leadership  would  then  have 
been  available  in  the  march  from  York  to  Cashtown  on  the 
30th,  and  in  the  operations  on  the  fateful  1st  of  July. 

Certainly  it  is  not  strange  that  General  Lee  should  have 
been  surprised  that  he  had  no  intelligence  from  General 
Stuart  between  the  23d  of  June  and  the  2d  of  July;  and 
the  question  is  whether  that  long  delay  was  unavoidable 
under  the  circumstances  in  which  General  Stuart  found 
himself  after  he  parted  with  General  Lee.  Colonel  Mosby 
says  General  Lee  had  studied  astronomy  and  knew  the 
nature  of  an  eclipse.  Yes,  but  General  Lee  was  not  sur 
prised  at  the  eclipse,  but  at  the  length  of  its  duration.  He 
sent  couriers  in  every  direction  to  gain,  if  possible,  news 
of  General  Stuart.  Colonel  Mosby  insists  it  was  no  part 
of  General  Stuart's  duty  to  report  to  General  Lee  the  move 
ments  of  Hooker's  army.  Yet  Stuart  himself  writes  in 

Gen.  E.  P.  Alexander,  in  his  important  work,  page  375,  says  that  had 
General  Stuart's  column  "here  followed  the  direct  road  via  Little- 
town  to  Gettysburg,  only  about  sixteen  miles  away,  it  could  have 
occupied  Gettysburg  before  11  A.  M.  on  the  30th,  when  it  would  have 
found  itself  in  good  position  in  front  of  Lee's  army,  then  concentrated 
at  Cashtown."  And  he  adds  that  in  that  case  "Lee's  army  would 
have  occupied  some  strong  position  between  Cashtown  and  Gettys 
burg,  and  the  onus  of  attack  would  have  been  on  the  Federals,  as  had 
been  the  plan  of  the  campaign." 

It  would  have  been  natural  for  General  Stuart  to  make  Gettysburg 
his  objective,  for  in  his  report  he  says  he  had  been  instructed  that  one 
column  of  our  army  would  move  "by  Gettysburg."  His  language 
is  not  conclusive  as  to  whether  he  had  meant  to  march  by  Littletown 
and  Gettysburg,  but  it  is  a  natural  inference  from  what  he  says  that 
but  for  the  news  that  during  the  night  of  the  29th  the  Federal  cavalry 
had  reached  Littletown,  he  would  have  marched  to  that  place  and  so 
on  to  Gettysburg.  But  for  that  unnecessary  and  fatal  delay  he  would 
have  been  at  Littletown  before  the  Federals,  and  could  have  reached 
Gettysburg  by  the  early  morning  of  the  30th. 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG      353 

his  report,  "  It  was  important  for  me  to  reach  our  column  with 
as  little  delay  as  possible,  to  acquaint  the  commanding 
general  with  the  nature  of  the  enemy's  movements,  as  well 
as  to  place  with  his  column  my  cavalry  force."  (Page  695.) 

Colonel  Mosby  tells  us  of  Stuart's  energetic  action  in 
Hooker's  rear  between  the  27th  of  June  and  the  1st  of  July; 
but  General  Lee  did  not  instruct  him  to  destroy  Hooker's 
trains,  or  to  damage  the  canal,  or  to  break  Hooker's  com 
munication  with  Washington,  or  to  burn  the  railroad  bridge 
at  Sykesville,  but  "after  crossing  the  river  (at  Shepherds- 
town,  or  Seneca),  you  must  move  on  and  feel  the  right  of 
Swell's  troops,  collecting  information,  provisions,  etc." 
It  was  a  brilliant  raid,  executed  with  great  skill  and  with 
marvellous  endurance  and  intrepidity  —  but  it  was  not 
ordered  by  General  Lee,  and  the  results  were  very  un 
satisfactory. 

Does  it  not  appear  reasonable  that  General  Stuart, 
having  been,  even  if  without  fault  of  his  own,  delayed  two 
days  in  crossing  the  Potomac,  would  then  have  felt,  if  he 
was  to  perform  the  service  entrusted  to  him  by  General 
Lee  on  the  23d  of  June,  he  must  march  with  all  possible 
haste,  by  the  shortest  practicable  route,  to  place  himself 
in  touch  with  General  Ewell? 

Did  he  do  this?  Or,  did  not  his  eager  and  aggressive 
nature  lead  him  to  undertake  enterprises  which  greatly 
delayed  his  march?  The  infantry  of  the  Fifth  Corps  of  the 
Federal  Army  was  only  one  day  behind  Stuart's  column  at 
Westminster,  though  when  he  began  his  movement  that 
corps  was  in  Virginia. 

But  there  is  a  previous  question.  When  Longstreet  and 
Hill  had  crossed  the  Potomac,  and  Hooker,  learning  the 
fact,  had  followed,  the  plans  of  the  Confederate  commander 
were,  as  I  have  stated,  revealed  to  General  Hooker,  and  the 
reason  given  for  Stuart's  march  being  made  in  rear  of  the 
Federal  Army,  no  longer  existed.  Should  not  that  officer 
then  have  reverted  to  the  other  route  and  crossed  at  Shep- 


354  APPENDIX 

herdstown  so  as  to  be  able  to  carry  out  his  instructions  as 
promptly  as  possible?    Was  not  this  course  also  the  more 
important  when  he  found  that  he  could  not  cross  the  Potomac 
on  the  25th,   because  the  Federal  columns  were  moving 
north?     His  cavalry  had  been  assigned  a  definite  part  in 
the  campaign  then  opened  —  that  is,  to  guard  Swell's  flank, 
keep  him  informed  of  the  enemy's  movements,  and  collect 
supplies    for  the    army.      Everything    should    have    been 
subordinated  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  end.     Had  it 
been,  General  Stuart  would  have  resisted  the  temptation 
to  break  the  Federal  communications  with   Washington, 
and  to  capture  and  carry  off  the  enemy's  wagon  train,  and 
would  have  joined  Ewell  several  days  before  he  did.     How 
ever  brilliant  and  daring  his  operations  in  Hooker's  rear, 
and  however  beneficial  their  results,  it    is    not    pertinent 
to  the  question  at  issue,  which  is  simply  this:  Did  General 
Stuart  exert  himself  with  whole-hearted  energy  to  carry 
out  the  instructions  he  received,  and  in  the  most  expeditious 
manner?     In  so  critical  and  fateful  a  movement  as  the 
invasion    of    Pennsylvania,    it    was    supremely    important 
that  every  officer  should  carry  out  the  orders  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief  with  the  strictest  fidelity  and    exactness. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  Ewell  made  his  march  to  the  Susque- 
hanna  (starting  on  June  23d    from  Hagerstown)  without 
receiving   any   aid   from    General    Stuart.      That    officer 
was  not  able  to  accomplish  any  of  the  things  he  was  charged 
to  do  in  connection  with  Ewell's  advance.     And  he  was 
not  able  to  accomplish  them  because,  first,  he  took  the 
course  behind  the  Federal  Army  when  the  reason  for  that 
line  of  march  no  longer  existed  and  when  the  circumstances 
under  which  he  had  received  permission  to  do  so  had  com 
pletely  changed;  and,  secondly,  because  having  crossed  the 
Potomac  on  the  27th,  he  did  not  then  march  as  directly 
and  as  expeditiously  as  possible,  to  effect  a  junction  with 
General   Ewell.     It   cannot   be   supposed   that   when   Lee 
gave  Stuart  his  instructions  on  June  22d,  he  had  any  idea 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG  355 

that  that  officer  would  not  report  to  General  Ewell  until 
the  1st  of  July  —  the  ninth  day  afterward. 

Colonel  Mosby  says  that  Stuart's  cavalry  could  not 
have  been  of  any  material  service  to  Lee  even  had  they 
been  present  at  Gettysburg  from  the  beginning  of  the  battle, 
and  yet  he  says  (page  189)  that  "the  withdrawal  of  Buford's 
cavalry  left  Sickles'  flank  in  the  peach  orchard  uncovered  — 
'in  the  air,'"  "and  that  Longstreet  took  advantage  of  it  and 
struck  him  a  stunning  blow."  These  two  statements  are 
inconsistent.  Colonel  Henderson  is  of  opinion  that  the 
skilful  handling  of  the  Federal  cavalry  "practically  decided 
the  issue  of  the  conflict."  ("Science  of  War,"  p.  278.) 

Colonel  Mosby  makes  much  of  the  alleged  inconsistency 
of  the  statement  in  General  Lee's  report  of  Jan.,  1864,  that 
Stuart  was  instructed  "to  lose  no  time  in  placing  his  command 
on  the  right  of  our  column  as  soon  as  he  perceived  the  enemy 
moving  northward,"  with  the  orders  he  actually  received 
to  accompany  the  column  of  General  Ewell.  But  is  there 
any  inconsistency?  In  using  this  language,  Lee  was  thinking 
of  his  army  as  a  unit,  and  could  not  have  meant  that  he 
expected  Stuart  to  be  with  Longstreet  when  he  had  ordered 
him  to  be  with  Ewell,  as  is  stated  in  the  report  which  Mosby 
criticises.  This  is  explicitly  stated  in  the  same  report  a 
sentence  or  two  before  the  allusion  to  "the  right  of  our 
column."  "Our  column,"  in  the  connection  in  which  it 
stands,  can  only  mean  General  Swell's  column.  Such 
criticism  is  captious  and  unfair. 

In  analyzing  Colonel  Mosby's  defence  of  General  Stuart, 
and  pointing  out  what  I  consider  his  mistakes,  I  have  had 
no  desire  to  associate  myself  with  those  who  seek  to  cast 
the  whole  responsibility  for  the  failure  of  the  Gettysburg 
campaign  on  the  shoulders  of  the  commander-in-chief 
of  the  cavalry  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  General 
A.  P.  Hill,  General  Ewell,  General  Longstreet  —especially 
the  last  —  must  all  share  it  with  him.  I  think  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  the  battle  was  precipitated  by  the  un- 


356  APPENDIX 

authorized  advance  of  General  Hill  on  July  1st.  I  think 
also  that  Colonel  Mosby  is  right  in  the  opinion  that  Lee 
had  no  intention  of  fighting  a  general  battle  at  Gettysburg: 
he  was  dragged  into  it  by  his  lieutenant.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  I  think  that  if  General  Stuart  had  been  with  Early, 
as  he  might  and  ought  to  have  been,  on  the  night  of  the 
29th,  or  the  morning  of  the  30th,1  his  cavalry  would  in  all 
probability  have  prevented  the  rash  advance  of  General 
Hill.  Marching  from  York  to  Cashtown  on  the  30th,  by 
way  of  Heidlersburg,  he  would  have  felt  the  enemy,  ascer 
tained  his  position  and  his  strength  and  left  no  excuse  for 
that  reconnoisance  which  prematurely  brought  on  the  battle 
on  a  field  Lee  had  not  selected.  .  .  .  Colonel  Mosby's  book 
involves  very  serious  strictures  on  General  Lee,  which  his 
soldiers  are  loath  to  accept  save  on  the  most  incontrovertible 
evidence.  He  asks  us  to  believe,  as  I  have  said,  that  the 
report  of  the  Gettysburg  campaign  which  General  Lee 
signed  in  January,  1864,  not  only  reflects  gross  injustice 
on  General  Stuart,  but  bristles  with  inconsistencies  and 
grievous  mistakes  on  points  of  capital  importance.  It  is 
incredible  that  these  two  reports  of  the  battle  were  signed 
by  General  Lee  without  reading  them.  It  is  inconsistent 
with  his  habit  in  other  cases.  We  know  that  he  took  time 
to  read  General  Pickett's  report  of  the  battle.  Why  not 
then  read  his  own  reports?  And  if  General  Lee  read  them, 
then  certainly  their  salient  statements,  to  say  the  least, 
have  the  stamp  of  his  authority.  But  Colonel  Mosby 
asserts  that  it  was  not  Lee's  purpose  on  the  28th  of  June  to 
advance  against  Harrisburg,  though  he  says  so  in  his  report, 
and  though  Colonel  Marshall  says  he  himself  sent  orders  to 
that  effect  to  Hill  and  Longstreet  on  the  night  of  the  28th. 

Colonel  Mosby  says,  page  191,  if  Stuart  had  arrived  on  the 
30th  at  York  "he  could  not  have  communicated  with  Lee."  No, 
but  he  would  have  received  the  orders  Lee  had  issued  for  concentra 
tion  at  Cashtown,  and  he  would  have  marched  that  day  with  Early 
toward  Cashtown. 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG     357 

He  insists  also  that  the  change  of  plan  and  the  orders  to 
concentrate  at  Cashtown  were  not  the  consequence  of  the 
intelligence  brought  by  a  scout  on  June  28th,  although 
General  Lee  affirms  it  in  his  report.  No  matter:  Colonel 
Mosby  knows  better;  he  is  sure  that  Lee  had  ordered  Ewell 
back  from  Carlisle  on  the  27th,  and  he  is  satisfied  of  this 
by  the  letter  in  Lee's  letter  book,  not  copied,  but  written 
from  memory  afterward  by  Colonel  Venable.  His  whole 
argument  on  this  point  rests,  as  I  have  said,  on  the  accuracy 
of  the  date  of  that  letter.  I  have  shown  that,  on  the  hypo 
thesis  of  an  error  in  date,  the  28th  instead  of  the  29th, 
the  inconsistencies  Colonel  Mosby  alleges  disappear.1 

1  Colonel  Mosby  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  scout  who  came  in  at 
Ghambersburg  late  on  June  28th  was  as  unreal  as  Caesar's  ghost  at 
Philippi.  "No  spy  came  in  at  Chambersburg,"  he  says.  Yet  General 
Longstreet  positively  affirmed  it.  General  Lee's  report  states  it  aa 
a  fact  and  Colonel  Marshall  says  that  he  was  sent  for  to  General  Lee's 
tent  after  ten  P.M.,  June  28th,  and  found  him  in  conference  with  a 
man  in  citizen's  dress,  who  proved  to  be  General  Longstreet's  scout. 
This  is  a  threefold  cord  of  testimony  not  to  be  easily  rent  asunder  by 
the  ipse  dixit  of  Colonel  Mosby.  What  appears  conclusive  proof  to 
Colonel  Mosby  that  the  story  of  the  scout  is  a  myth  is  the  statement, 
in  after  years  coupled  with  it,  that  the  said  scout  also  brought  intelli 
gence  of  the  appointment  of  General  Meade  that  very  day  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac;  but  there  is  no  mention  of  this  in 
General  Lee's  report.  It  may  be  a  later  edition  to  the  original  story. 
But  whether  true  or  false,  it  does  not  concern  the  defenders  of  the 
accuracy  of  General  Lee's  statement  in  his  report.  It  is  not  alluded 
to  either  in  that  report  or  in  the  report  of  General  Longstreet.  How 
ever,  the  fact  is  that  General  Hooker  telegraphed  his  resignation  on 
the  evening  of  June  27th.  Meade  was  at  once  appointed  in  his  place, 
and  the  news  of  his  appointment  reached  Frederick  in  the  forenoon 
of  June  28th.  Colonel  Mosby  thinks  it  impossible  that  the  alleged 
scout  could  have  carried  this  news  so  soon  from  Frederick  to  Longstreet 
at  Chambersburg.  But  if  by  some  chance  the  said  scout  learned  the  news 
in  the  forenoon  of  the  28th,  is  it  certain  he  could  not  have  travelled 
fifty-five  miles  before  eleven  P.M.?  President  Roosevelt  could  have  done 
it;  perhaps  he  could.  I  do  not  think  his  quotation  from  Colonel  Free- 
mantle  proves  that  the  news  of  Hooker's  being  suspended  was  not 
received  by  Longstreet  until  the  30th  of  June.  But,  as  I  have  said, 


358  APPENDIX 

Now  General  Lee's  report  does  reflect  on  General  Stuart, 
so  far  as  to  intimate  surprise  that  he  did  not  report  to  Ewell 
or  to  Lee  before  the  2d  of  July,  and  it  reflects  the  feeling 
of  the  commander-in-chief  that  he  was  greatly  embarrassed 
by  this  absence.  But  it  leaves  it  an  open  question  whether 
that  absence  was  unavoidable.  Now,  if  there  was  one 
feature  in  Lee's  character  that  was  conspicuous  and  unde 
niable,  it  was  his  magnanimity.  He  showed  it  in  a  remark 
able  degree  at  Gettysburg,  and  when  he  states  in  his  report 
the  fact  of  Stuart's  absence,  and  the  embarrassment  it 
caused  him,  his  soldiers  feel  that  the  statement  is  to  be 
accepted  as  absolutely  true.  Military  critics  at  once 
recognize  that  the  absence  of  the  cavalry  was  the  most 
serious  drawback  to  the  success  of  the  campaign.  We 
think  Lee  was  a  better  judge  than  Colonel  Mosby  whether 
the  cavalry  of  Stuart,  under  such  a  superb  leader  as  he  was, 
would  have  contributed  to  the  success  of  the  campaign, 
or  would  have,  at  least,  prevented  the  precipitation  of  the 
battle  when  and  where  it  occurred. 

I  do  not  think  Colonel  Mosby  has  shown  that  Stuart 
was  without  blame,  and  I  therefore  feel  that  part  of  the 
responsibility  (I  do  not  say  the  larger  part)  for  the  failure 
of  the  campaign  must  rest  on  him.  And  when  I  say  this, 
I  nevertheless  yield  to  none  in  my  admiration  of  that  superb 
soldier  whose  military  genius  and  magnificent  intrepidity 
place  him  so  high  among  the  great  leaders  of  the  Confederate 
Army. 

the  question  is  of  no  importance  in  the  argument  on  behalf  of  the 
accuracy  of  General  Lee's  statement  in  his  report. 

Gen.  E.  P.  Alexander  is  another  witness  on  both  these  points.  He 
says  (page  379),  that  on  June  28th,  General  Lee  still  believed  Hooker 
had  not  crossed  the  Potomac;  that  he  issued  orders  for  an  advance 
of  his  whole  army  next  day  upon  Harrisburg;  but  that  his  plan  was 
changed  by  the  arrival  of  General  Longstreet's  scout  about  midnight 
of  the  28th,  with  news  that  Hooker  had  crossed  into  Maryland,  and 
that  he  had  been  superseded. 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG     359 

It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  Colonel  Mosby  should 
have  deemed  it  proper,  in  defending  General  Stuart  against 
what  he  considers  unjust  criticism,  to  indulge  in  these 
strictures  upon  the  conduct  and  the  military  judgment  of 
General  Lee.  He  declares,  as  we  have  seen,  that  General 
Lee  was  absolutely  in  error  in  several  of  the  salient  and  most 
important  points  of  his  reports.  Or,  if  we  wish  to  save 
General  Lee's  reputation  in  these  respects,  he  suggests  an 
alternative,  inconsistent  with  Lee's  whole  character  and 
record,  and  dishonorable  to  him  as  a  responsible  officer; 
viz.,  that  he  signed  his  reports  without  reading  them.  Was 
Lee  then  an  automaton  to  do  the  bidding  of  Colonel  Marshall, 
his  military  secretary? 

Again,  in  referring  to  General  Lee's  suggestion  before  he 
embarked  on  the  Pennsylvania  campaign,  June  23d,  that 
General  Beauregard  should  be  sent  to  Culpeper  Court 
House  with  an  army,  however  small,  to  threaten  Washington, 
Colonel  Mosby  dismisses  the  subject  lightly  with  the  remark 
that  "if  it  had  been  practicable  to  raise  such  an  army,  as 
the  campaign  closed  the  next  week  at  Gettysburg,  it  could 
not  have  been  assembled  in  time  to  render  any  assistance 
to  General  Lee  in  the  Pennsylvania  campaign."  (Page  84.) 
Yet  there  were  five  brigades  at  Petersburg,  Richmond, 
and  Guinea  Station,  besides  three  brigades  in  North  Carolina, 
and  if  General  Beauregard  and  even  two  of  these  brigades 
had  been  at  once  sent  forward  to  Culpeper,  they  could 
have  reached  there  by  rail  in  a  few  days,  and  the  moral 
effect  would  have  been  such  as  probably  to  turn  back  some 
of  Hooker's  army  for  the  defence  of  Washington  —  greatly 
to  Lee's  advantage  in  the  approaching  battle.  Captain 
Battine,  a  military  critic  of  ability,  remarks  that  it  would 
have  been  "worth  incurring  great  risks"  to  have  drawn 
four  of  these  brigades  — "to  comply  with  this  suggestion 
about  Beauregard."  (Page  166.) 

Again,  Colonel  Mosby  challenges  General  Lee's  statement 
tha  the  was  embarrassed  by  the  absence  of  General  Stuart 


360  APPENDIX 

with  the  larger  part  of  the  cavalry.  Colonel  Mosby  knows 
better  —  Lee  had  all  the  cavalry  that  he  needed.  It  does 
not  appear  to  be  necessary  to  ascribe  infallibility  to  General 
Lee,  in  order  to  justify  the  conclusion  that  that  great  soldier 
probably  knew  better  than  the  gallant  partisan  colonel 
whether  or  not  the  presence  of  Stuart  and  his  horsemen 
could  have  been  of  great  service  to  him  in  the  campaign. 
General  Lee  doubtless  was  not  infallible,  but  his  judgment 
in  military  matters  was,  if  we  may  say  so  without  offence, 
much  less  fallible  than  that  of  Colonel  Mosby. 

The  same  able  writer  already  referred  to  says  (p.  195) : 

"Probably  it  was  the  want  of  information  due  to  the  lack 
of  cooperating  cavalry  which  lay  at  the  root  of  the  halting 
tactics  of  the  Confederate  leaders.  Thus  every  move  of 
the  enemy  took  them  by  surprise  and  inspired  them  with 
unnecessary  caution  at  the  very  moment  when  boldness 
would  have  gained  so  much."  (See  pp.  219  and  220.) 

But  the  most  painful  thrust  which  Colonel  Mosby  makes 
at  the  reputation  of  General  Lee  is  contained  in  the  following 
paragraph : 

"There  is  a  floating  legend  that  General  Lee  assumed  all 
the  blame  of  his  defeat.  He  did  not;  his  reports  put  all  the 
blame  on  Stuart." 

That  General  Lee  said  to  his  soldiers  after  the  repulse 
of  Pickett's  charge  that  he  was  responsible  for  the  failure 
is  not  a  "floating  legend"  but  a  well-attested  fact.  That 
he  refrained  from  reproaching  his  three  lieutenants,  Hill 
and  Ewell  and  Longstreet,  with  their  share  in  the  defeat 
is  another  well-known  fact.  That  he  wrote  to  Jefferson 
Davis  that  touching  and  pathetic  letter  asking  that  a  younger 
and  better  man  be  placed  in  command  of  the  army,  because 
of  his  lack  of  success,  is  yet  another  proof  that  he  assumed 
the  responsibility  of  the  failure.  And  to  say  that  in  his 
report  he  "put  all  the  blame  on  Stuart"  is  a  grave  inac 
curacy.  The  first  report  states  the  simple  fact,  without 
any  animadversion,  that  "the  absence  of  the  cavalry 


STUART'S  CAVALRY  AT  GETTYSBURG     361 

rendered  it  impossible  to  obtain  accurate  information." 
The  second  rehearsed  the  orders  given  General  Stuart, 
and  added  that  it  was  expected  that  officer  would  "give 
notice  of  the  movements"  of  the  Federal  Army,  but  as 
" nothing  had  been  heard  from  him,"  it  was  "inferred  that 
the  enemy  had  not  yet  left  Virginia."1  The  report  leaves 
it  an  open  question  whether  Stuart  was,  or  was  not,  to 
blame  for  his  absence  and  for  the  lack  of  information. 
General  Fitz  Lee,  in  his  life  of  General  Lee,  with  these  reports 
before  him,  states  that  General  Lee  and  General  Longstreet 
were  responsible  for  Stuart's  absence,  a  statement  with 
which  I  cannot  agree. 

The  untoward  conclusion  of  the  Pennsylvania  campaign 
—  in  a  drawn  battle  which  compelled  him  to  retreat,  instead 
of  in  the  decisive  victory  he  had  a  right  to  expect  —  must 
have  been  a  crushing  blow  to  the  spirit  of  General  Lee: 
and  it  must  forever  remain  a  splendid  illustration  of  the 
magnanimity  of  that  great  soldier  that  he  made  no  attempt 
to  shield  his  military  reputation  behind  the  shortcomings 
of  his  lieutenants.  To  state  the  consequence  of  the  absence 
of  General  Stuart  was  a  part  of  the  story  —  the  res  gestcs  — 
of  the  campaign,  and  could  not  have  been  omitted  in  any 
intelligent  account  of  the  same.  But  to  refrain,  as  he  did, 
from  stating  that  the  absence  of  that  officer  and  his  command 
was  due  to  a  failure  to  strictly  observe  the  orders  he  had 
received  —  was  a  generous  and  magnanimous  act  which 
has  few  parallels  in  military  history.  It  is  to  be  deeply 
regretted  that  any  officer  who  ever  drew  sword  in  Lee's 
army  should  seek  to  tarnish  the  splendor  of  such  noble 
self-restraint. 

On  the  whole  I  fear  the  careful  critic  will  be  constrained 
to  pass  on  Colonel  Mosby's  book  the  criticism  that  writer 

1 1  have  quoted  on  a  previous  page  a  passage  from  General  Stuart's 
report  of  his  operations,  in  which  he  states  that  it  was  "important" 
for  him  to  "acquaint  the  commanding  general  with  the  movements 
of  the  enemy." 


362 


APPENDIX 


has  passed  on  Colonel  Marshall's  work  in  Lee's  report: 
"  It  is  a  fine  example  of  special  pleading,  and  the  composition 
shows  that  the  author  possessed  far  more  of  the  qualities  of 
an  advocate  than  of  a  judge." 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


JAN! 

IR  STACKS 

1967 


DEC  1 1  661 


RE' 

MAR2T67-5PM 

LOAN  DEPT. 

FEB 1 0  1974 


CIRC  DEPT     MAr.20''* 


5     7977 


KEU.  CIU,  '' 


LD  21A-60m-7,'66 
(G4427slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


